Keynote Speakers

Monday, September 25, 2006
Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Monday, September 25, 2006

Guest speaker

Dr. John H. Marburger, III
Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy
Executive Office of the President of the United States of America

Dr. John H. Marburger, III, Science Adviser to the President and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, was born on Staten Island N.Y., grew up in Maryland near Washington D.C. and attended Princeton University (B.A., Physics 1962) and Stanford University (Ph.D. Applied Physics 1967).  Before his appointment in the Executive Office of the President, he served as Director of Brookhaven National Laboratory from 1998, and as the third President of the State University of New York at Stony Brook (1980-1994).  He came to Long Island in 1980 from the University of Southern California where he had been a Professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering, serving as Physics Department Chairman and Dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences in the 1970's.  In the fall of 1994 he returned to the faculty at Stony Brook, teaching and doing research in optical science as a University Professor.  Three years later he became President of Brookhaven Science Associates, a partnership between the university and Battelle Memorial Institute that competed for and won the contract to operate Brookhaven National Laboratory.

While at the University of Southern California, Marburger contributed to the rapidly growing field of nonlinear optics, a subject created by the invention of the laser in 1960.  He developed theory for various laser phenomena and was a co-founder of the University of Southern California 's Center for Laser Studies.  His teaching activities included "Frontiers of Electronics," a series of educational programs on CBS television.

Marburger's presidency at Stony Brook coincided with the opening and growth of University Hospital and the development of the biological sciences as a major strength of the university.  During the 1980's federally sponsored scientific research at Stony Brook grew to exceed that of any other public university in the northeastern United States.

During his presidency, Marburger served on numerous boards and committees, including chairmanship of the governor's commission on the Shoreham Nuclear Power facility, and chairmanship of the 80 campus "Universities Research Association" which operates Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory near Chicago.  He served as a trustee of Princeton University and many other organizations.  He also chaired the highly successful 1991/92 Long Island United Way campaign.

While on leave from Stony Brook, Marburger carried out the mandates of the Department of Energy to improve management practice at Brookhaven National Laboratory.  His company, Brookhaven Science Associates, continued to produce excellent science at the lab while achieving ISO14001 certification of the lab's environmental management system, and winning back the confidence and support of the community.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Guest speaker

Dr. Luc Soete
Joint Director of the United Nations University Institute for New Technologies (UNU-INTECH) and the Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT)

Luc Soete, a Belgian national, became joint Director of the United Nations University Institute for New Technologies (UNU-INTECH) and the Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT), in 2005, overseeing the integration of the two institutes to form the new research and training centre, UNU-MERIT. He was the founding director of MERIT, which he set up in 1988, and Professor of International Economics (on leave) at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Maastricht. He was appointed member of the Dutch scientific advisory body Adviesraad voor Wetenschap en Technologie (AWT), in January 2004. Before coming to Maastricht in 1986, he worked at the Department of Economics of the University of Antwerp, (UFSIA), the Institute of Development Studies and the Science Policy Research Unit both at the University of Sussex, and the Department of Economics at Stanford University. Professor Soete completed his first degrees in economics and development economics at the University of Ghent, Belgium, before obtaining his DPhil in economics at the University of Sussex. His research interests cover the broad range of theoretical and empirical studies of the impact of technological change, in particular new information and communication technologies on employment, economic growth, and international trade and investment, as well as the related policy and measurement issues.