Ask Me Anything
Tuesday, April 27, 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Moderator: Sarah Hibbs-Shipp, Ph, D, Director of Outreach & Communications, CSURF/CSU Ventures
Molly Kocialski, JD, Regional Director, Rocky Mountain USPTO
Ms. Kocialski is a recognized IP leader in the Rocky Mountain region. Ms. Kocialski currently serves on the Colorado Federal Executive Board’s Executive Committee. Ms. Kocialski is the Vice President of the Colorado IP Inn of Court and was previously the Chair of the Planning Committee and a member of the Board of Directors of the Colorado IP Inn
of Court.
Nicole Ressue, JD, Patent Attorney,
Santangelo Law Offices
Nicole A. Ressue is a registered patent attorney who specializes in preparing and prosecuting U.S. and foreign patent applications. Nicole has experience in various disciplines including biotechnology, chemistry, microbial remediation, solar power, carbon dioxide emission reduction, software, mechanical devices, coal refinery, electrical, business methods, consumer goods, and a variety of others. Nicole has been involved in patent appeals at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and foreign patent oppositions such as in Europe and Australia.
Susan James, PhD, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs & Professor Mechanical Engineering at Colorado State University, Fellow - National Academy of Inventors
Dr. James received her Ph.D. in Polymers from MIT and her B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science from Carnegie Mellon. Her research focuses on polymeric materials used in biomedical engineering. These include orthopedic and cardiovascular applications as well as regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.
Emily Roberts, Vice President, Colorado Bioscience Association (CBSA)
Emily Roberts leads Colorado BioScience Association’s policy and advocacy work at the state and federal level, and collaborates with Colorado BioScience Association’s President & CEO and board of directors on the development and execution of strategic initiatives for continued growth of the Association.
Keynote Speaker
Wednesday, April 28, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
David Frakes, PhD
BME Distinguished Faculty Fellow, Associate Professor, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering,
Applied Vision Laboratory Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University.
David Frakes holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering, an M.S in mechanical engineering, and a Ph.D. in bioengineering, all from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Frakes was awarded the 2012 National Science Foundation CAREER Award and the 2014 World Technology Network Award in Health and Medicine, both for his pioneering work in simulation-based planning for endovascular interventions.
Dr. Frakes co-founded EndoVantage to further develop his simulation-based planning technology, which was acquired by RapidAI in 2020.
In 2008, Dr. Frakes joined Arizona State University as an Affiliate Professor and Director of the Image Processing Applications Lab. In 2014, he was named Innovator of the Year in the state of Arizona for his novel contributions to 3D printing-based planning for congenital heart defect repair. He joined Google in 2015 where he led research behind Lens, Google’s visual search engine, before moving on to Apple in 2019 where he served as Lead of Camera Software for the iPhone 11 family of products. Dr. Frakes is now a jointly appointed Associate Professor at Georgia Tech in Biomedical Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Research interests: Computer vision, Medical devices, Fluid dynamics
Leading Innovation in Sustainability
Thursday, April 29, 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Moderator: Jillian Lang, PhD, Director of Licensing and Business Development, CSURF/CSU Ventures
Bryan Willson, PhD, Executive Director, CSU Energy Institute
Dr. Bryan Willson is Executive Director of the Energy Institute at Colorado State University, and the holds the Bryan Willson Presidential Chair of Energy Innovation. He also serves as a Professor of Mechanical Engineering. He served as a Program Director at ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy), from 2012-2016 and continues to serve as a consultant / advisor to the agency. Dr. Willson has worked for over 25 years to develop and deploy large-scale technology solutions related to energy, air quality, and human health.
Sybil Sharvelle, PhD, CSU Associate Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Director CSU Urban Water Center
Dr. Sybil Sharvelle is a Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and is a member of the Environmental Engineering focus area. Her research interests include water reuse (graywater and reclaimed water), integrated urban water management, and waste conversion to energy.
Kim Stackhouse-Lawson, PhD, Director,
CSU Sustainable Livestock Systems Collaborative
Kim is responsible for directing the work of the newly established Sustainable Livestock System’s Collaborative at Colorado State University. The Collaborative will address the challenges in bringing animal-based food – in a sustainable and healthy way – through to the next century.
Erika Benti, TDM-CP, CSU Alternative Transportation
Erika helps CSU students discover their transportation options, on and off campus. Erika is an inventor and project manager for the Innovate Fort Collins grant-winning student transportation education module CSU Moves, and won the 2018 Emerging Leader Award from the Association for Commuter Transportation.
