Conference Info
Speakers
Brian Abraham, Whitebox Advisors, Director of Private Investing; Bluefin Robotics,
Former President
"Transforming Cool Robotics Technology into Hot Robotics Business"
Bob Breznak and Kevin Harrington, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
"Designing Modular Robotic Systems"
Brian Colandreo, Holland & Knight LLP
"IP (Intellectual Property) for Start-Ups"
Dwight Meglan, HeartLander Surgical Inc., President
"An Overview of Surgical Robotics"
Larry Nelson, Sr., IEEE-USA
"What do I do Before, During, and After my Next Idea"
Jerome Schaufeld, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
"Educating Robotics Engineers"
Abstracts and Biographies
Brian Abraham, Whitebox Advisors, Director of Private Investing; Bluefin Robotics,
Former President
"Transforming Cool Robotics Technology into Hot Robotics Business"
New and emerging robotics technologies create opportunities for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial organizations to compete more efficiently in established markets and create new markets. Formal and anecdotal training are needed to properly assess market needs to determine if there is a potential robotics technology solution that can meet the identified market need. Moreover, there is a significant amount of training required to perform proper technology due diligence to ensure the successful identification, acquisition and/or development of the technology prior to product launch. Far too often researchers become enamored with the quality of the robotics technology and spend far more time in the laboratory than in developing a sound business model. There are two common approaches to developing and introducing technologies into the business community: technology push and market pull. Technology push arises when a new technology is created that exhibits unique characteristics that can radically innovate market segments. Market pull arises when unmet or underserved market needs are identified that can be filled with a novel technological solution. In either case it is critical for the technology developer to spend significant time developing the business model which is far too often overlooked resulting in, many times, disappointment, slow market entry, and potentially dissolution. With an appropriate balance between technology development and business model development, these pitfalls are easily avoided.
BIOGRAPHY
Brian Abraham
612-227-4743
abrahamb@babson.edu
MBA: Babson College (Wellesley, MA). Entrepreneurship
Ph.D.: Tufts University (Medford, MA). Chemistry
B.A.: Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, NY). Chemistry
B.A.: Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, NY). Spanish
Dr. Abraham is the Director of Private Investments for Whitebox Advisors (Minneapolis, MN) where he oversees a $300MM portfolio of private investments and serves as director and/or CEO for several of the technology oriented portfolio firms.
Prior to joining Whitebox, Dr. Abraham served as President and CEO Bluefin Robotics, a $14MM undersea robotics company. Under Dr. Abraham, Bluefin achieved over 40% CAGR over three years, increased profitability by 300%, secured several high profile government and private sector contracts and fostered strong industry/academic ties.
Prior to assignment to Bluefin, Brian Abraham had joined Battelle Memorial Institute (Columbus, OH) in 2001 to serve as the Director of Technology Development for the National Security Division. Prior to joining Battelle, Dr. Abraham managed the NBC Detection Division for Bruker Daltonics with international management responsibilities including research and development, manufacturing, marketing, sales, and service. Dr. Abraham has also served as Vice President and co-founder of technology-driven startup organizations based on University-sponsored research. Dr. Abraham has lectured and been published extensively in areas ranging from Analytical Chemistry to Entrepreneurship.
Dr. Abraham has served as an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at Babson College and The Ohio State University.
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Bob Breznak and Kevin Harrington, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Neuron Robotics"Designing Modular Robotic Systems"
ABSTRACT COMING SOON
BIOGRAPHY
Robert Breznak, Worcester Polytechnioc Institute and Neuron Robotics co-founder
Bob graduated from WPI in 2009 with a BS in Computer Science. During his time at WPI he was involved with the robotics program and kept an active interest in modularization and virtualization of robotic systems. In the summer of 2009 he co-founded Neuron Robotics with Kevin Harrington and Alex Camilo.
Kevin Harrington, Worcester Polytechnioc Institute and Neuron Robotics co-founder (biography unavailable)
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Brian Colandreo,ABSTRACT COMING SOON
BIOGRAPHY
Brian Colandreo
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Dwight Meglan, HeartLander Surgical, President & CTO
"An Overview of Surgical Robotics"
ABSTRACT COMING SOON
BIOGRAPHY
Dwight Meglan
President & CTO
HeartLander Surgical
90 Wildwood Dr.
Westwood, MA 02090
617 306 0807
www.heartlandersurgical.com
dmeglan@heartlandersurgical.com
Dr. Dwight Meglan has been applying robotic, image guidance, and simulation-centered technologies to medicine for almost 20 years. Recently he has been involved in developing a entirely new form of heart surgery robotics system as well as several simulators for training in open surgery, combat casualty care, and dental restoration. Prior to this, he worked with a startup company developing a surgical robot to enable dexterous intervention with flexible tools in the heart, which went public in 2006, and another company where he lead the development of a flexible endoscopy robot for the GI system that is recognized as the first natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery system.
He has worked extensively on using mathematical modeling to create real-time simulations for minimally invasive procedures. This began as a focus on training and broadened into clinical products that use simulation to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of procedures. Through this work, he guided a number of surgical simulation projects at several startup companies, with a number of these simulators now commercially available. As part of this, he was with Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs where he built an intrapreneurial group focused on computation in the operating room products. In addition to guiding the technical aspects of surgical simulation, he has been active in developing several business models to support these unique medical products.
Before working on the surgical simulation products, Dr. Meglan worked in a Stanford/MIT team that developed an augmented reality knee arthroscopy system in the early 1990s that has yet to be replicated in the market. His post doctoral work at the Mayo Clinic Orthopedic Biomechanics laboratory focused on locomotion simulation and analysis techniques as well as modeling of the human knee to better define surgical procedures and rehabilitation protocols. The coupled dynamics concept in his doctoral work continues to be a controversial area of research in the human locomotion research community.
Dr. Meglan has a number of on going interests that combine computation, motion measurement, and electromechanical systems to facilitate a more fulfilled life for those with physical needs including his own brain injured daughter.
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Larry G. Nelson, Sr., IEEE-USA
"What do I do before, During, and After my Next Idea"
ABSTRACT COMING SOON
BIOGRAPHY
Larry G. Nelson, Sr.
L.Nelson@IEEE.ORG
BSEE: WPI (Worcester, MA)
ASEE, Central New England College (Worcester, MA)
. Mr. Nelson has been President of Nelson Research since 1980 and provides electronics design, custom training, and computer consulting to a variety of companies ranging from Fortune 50 type companies to small startups. Specialties include embedded microprocessor design specializing in Microchip PIC microprocessors, as well as analog, and digital systems. He is a listed Master Consultant for Microchip, Parallax, HiTech, and Z-World.
As an Adjunct Faculty member at Central New England College in Worcester MA he created and presented an Introduction to Robotics class and an Electronics for Robotics Class. At that time he organized and participated in a Robotics Symposium at their Westboro campus and also published the Robotics Interests Newsletter.
He is currently a Principal Engineer with Varian Semiconductor Equipment Corporation in Gloucester MA and serves as Vice Chair of the Worcester County Section of the IEEE.
PUBLICATIONS & AWARDS
"Solid State or Electromechanical Relays?" published in Instruments and Control Systems Magazine, June 1986
IEEE Millennium Medal recipient
IEEE Citation of Honor recipient 2003
Chairman IEEE Worcester County Section 6/1993 - 3/2003
Vice Chairman IEEE Worcester County Section 4/2003 - Now
IEEE Region 1 Pre College Committee Chairman 1/2003 - 1/2007
Gold Level Master Consultant listed with Microchip Corporation
PATENTS
6,490,977 12/10/02 Precision Pyrotechnic display system and method of having increased safety and timing accuracy
6,857,369 2/22/05 Precision Pyrotechnic display system and method of having increased safety and timing accuracy
7,194,959 3/27/07 Precision Pyrotechnic display system and method of having increased safety and timing accuracy
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Jerome (Jerry) J. Schaufeld, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
"Rducating Robotics Engineers"
ABSTRACT COMING SOON
BIOGRAPHY
Jerome (Jerry) J. Schaufeld
Professor of Practice in Entrepreneurship
Department of Management
100 Institute Road, Worcester, MA 01609-2280
Phone: (508) 831-6114 - Fax: (508) 831-5720
e-mail: jjs@wpi.edu
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