biography 

Joanna Bryson is a transdisciplinary researcher on the structure and dynamics of human and animal-like intelligence. Her research covering topics from AI, through autonomy and robot ethics, and on to human cooperation has appeared in many different venues. She holds degrees in Psychology and AI. She also has professional research experience from Princeton, Oxford, Harvard, and LEGO; technical experience in Chicago's financial industry, and experience in international management consultancy.

biography

Dr. George M. Church is professor of genetics at Harvard, founding member of the Wyss Institute, and director of PersonalGenomes.org. Church is a pioneer in the fields of personal genomics and synthetic biology. He developed the first methods for genome sequencing and cost reductions. His team invented CRISPR for human stem cell genome editing and other synthetic biology technologies and applications. Church directs the IARPA & NIH BRAIN Projects and NIH Centers of Excellence in Genomic Science.

SESSIONS

Fireside Chat. Pionneering Gene-Editing

George Church is probably the most well-known geneticist of our time. And not just because he once wanted to bring the wholly mammoth back or reverse aging in humans (but it sure helped!). A pionneer in gene-editing in the 90s, he's mostly working on getting more and more people to have their genome sequenced. What's next in this field?

Panel. Code of the Wild. 

Genome modification will inevitably change us and the natural world. Many questions have been raised about who decides what is right and what is wrong on the new frontier. What are the benefits? And where are the boundaries? Attend this high level panel to hear from experts in their field, as they debate some of the toughest questions that we face today. 

Find out more about Code of the Wild, a next generation fluid documentary film exploring how humanity is shaped through our decisions today in the era of the genomic revolution via their website. 

biography

Dr Sengupta is an aerospace engineer, rocket scientist, and veteran of the space program. She worked for NASA for 16 years, where her engineering projects included her PhD research on developing the ion propulsion system for the Dawn Mission—currently in the main asteroid belt—, the supersonic parachute that landed the Curiosity rover on Mars, and the Cold Atom Laboratory an atomic physics facility now on board the International Space Station. Furthermore, she was an astronaut candidate finalist in the 2017 selection round.

After leaving NASA, Anita joined Virgin Hyperloop as Senior Vice President of Engineering Systems and led the development of the Hyperloop, a technology that can enable ground-based travel in excess of airline speed.  

Her current engineering adventure is the design of electrified autonomous VTOL air taxis for urban aerial transport as Chief Product Officer and Vice President of Business Development at Airspace Experience Technologies (ASX). As an engineering savvy executive and pilot, she is now leading mobility solutions for smart cities to eliminate congestion and reduce the carbon footprint of air travel.

Dr Sengupta received her MS and PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California, where she is also a Research Associate Professor of Astronautics and Space Technology specialising in interplanetary entry system and green transportation technology.

In her spare time, Anita is an avid pilot, motorcyclist, scuba diver, snowboarder, hiker, long-distance runner, and Sci-Fi fan.

sessions

Keynote. The Future of Mars Exploration

Mars is the next destination for humans, but there are still some big challenges to overcome to get there. One of the most challenging aspects of Mars missions is the safe landing on the surface—from an initial entry speed of 30,000 miles per hour to a soft touchdown. During the descent to the surface, robots and, eventually, people are protected from extreme temperatures and G-forces by complexly engineered systems. On the surface, future explorers must be able to survive radiation and low pressures, with only the limited resources they can bring along. This talk will discuss the motivation for Mars exploration and how engineering challenges are tackled with computational modelling, cutting-edge technologies, and out-of-the-box thinking. Engineering the Red Planet is the key to our future and to understanding our past.

biography

Andras Forgacs is the Co-Founder and CEO of Modern Meadow, which launched in 2011. Previously, he had also co-founded Organovo, a leader in tissue engineering which pioneered the use of 3D bio-printing to create human tissue. Andras also was a managing director with Richmond Global, a technology-focused venture fund. He is also co-founder and chairman emeritus of Resolution Project, a Kauffman Fellow with the Center for Venture Education, and a term member with the Council on Foreign Relations.

sessions

Keynote. Growing our clothes in the lab 

What if we unlocked the power of nature to totally change the way we build materials? Designed at DNA level and then grown in a lab, and finally assembled to fit exactly our needs, Modern Meadow's collagen protein paves the way towards a more sustainable world.

biography

Dr Diane Wu is the Co-Founder and CEO of Trace Genomics, which uses DNA sequencing and machine learning to provide farmers access to the important biological ecosystem supporting plant growth below ground, enabling improvements in yield, soil health, nutrition, and sustainability. Diane was previously a data scientist, solving problems in fraud detection, crime prediction, and medical image analysis. She holds a PhD in Genetics from Stanford University and a BSc in Computer Science.

sessions

Keynote. Unlocking the power of our soil

As our planet population grows each year, how can we apply artificial intelligence and microbial genomics to increase our food production while providing value to farmers?

BIOGRAPHY

Liva Ralaivola is the Head of the Artificial Intelligence project at the University of Aix-Marseille, where he is also a Professor. Since obtaining his PhD in 2003 from the Pierre et Marie Curie University in 2003, Liva has carried out research in the field of machine learning with a particular focus on its theoretical aspects, which granted him an Institut Universitaire de France membership in 2016. He conducts his research at the LIS and at Criteo’s AI Lab.

sessions

Panel. What happens when AI fails? - Concrete solutions for a better AI

biography

Sabine Hauert is an Assistant Professor in Robotics and the President and Co-Founder of Robohub.org, a non-profit dedicated to connecting the robotics community to the world. Her research focuses in designing swarms that work in large numbers and at small scales. Applications range from nanomedicine for cancer treatment, to robot swarms in industrial and environmental applications. Her discovery of swarm algorithms is powered by bio-inspiration and machine learning.

sessions

Keynote. Swarm engineering across scales: from nanoparticles to robots

Taking inspiration from nature itself, we can engineer the behaviour of huge numbers of robots, be them big or nanosized. It could be a game-changer, but not necessarily in the way you think.

biography

Bob Mumgaard is the CEO of Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), a fusion energy startup partnered with MIT. As CEO, Mumgaard drives the company’s vision to accelerate the path to commercial fusion energy. A visionary who believes in the power of innovation to facilitate breakthroughs to combat climate change, Mumgaard and the CFS team are working in collaboration with MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center to realize the holy grail of renewable energy: fusion.

sessions

Keynote. How close are we to clean fusion energy?

Fusion energy is often seen as a graal as it would provide a virtually limitless pollution-free source of energy. How close are we to this?