Nanotechnology:
Real Revenues Today &
Impacts on the U.S. Economy
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Fifth Floor Conference Room
12 – 5 pm, March 11, 2003
12 noon Lunch
12:45 Welcome and Overview
- David Rejeski Foresight and Governance Project, Wilson Center
- Jim Hurd NanoScience Exchange
1:00 Products, Profits, and Perspectives Today
- Donn Tice, CEO, Nano-tex
- Dan McGahn, General Manager, Hyperion Catalysis
- Harris Goldberg, CEO, InMat
- Andrew Wahl, CEO, Optiva
2:30 Break
2:45 The Global Nanotech Race: Why It Matters
- Lee H. Hamilton, President, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (Introduction)
- Senator Ron Wyden, Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space
- Phil Bond, Undersecretary of Commerce for Technology, Department of Commerce
- Mark Modzelewski, NanoBusiness Alliance
4:15 Discussion
5:00 Adjourn
Please RSVP to Carly Wobig at: 202-691-4276 or
Directions to the Wilson Center can be found at: http://wwics.si.edu/index.cfm?fuseaction=about.directions
About the Speakers
Dan McGahn is General Manager of Hyperion Catalysis, the world leader in carbon nanotube development based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He manages the company's domestic and international operations in 16 countries. Under McGahn's leadership, Hyperion Catalysis has launched more than three dozen revolutionary products used in automobiles, fuel connectors and filters, computer hard drives and semi-conductor handling, processing and control systems, packaging, copy machine handling and imaging instrumentation. Prior to joining Hyperion Catalysis four years ago, McGahn was Director of Business Development and Operations of IGEN International. He developed biological detection and measurement systems and was responsible for product development, marketing and operations. For three years prior McGahn was a senior managing consultant with Princeton Consultants, an information technology and management consulting firm focused on financial services, insurance and securities firms. McGahn received a B.S. in Ocean Engineering and a Master of Engineering degree, both from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Harris A. Goldberg received his Ph.D. in condensed matter theory from the University of Massachusetts in 1975. After a postdoc at the University of Toronto, he began an industrial research career at the Celanese Summit New Jersey research center in 1978. Working there for Celanese and later for Hoechst Celanese, he made technical contributions and led business development teams in numerous material science areas including carbon and graphite fibers, intercalated graphite, optical recording, non-linear optics, photorefractive polymers, packaging materials, and dielectric composites. In 1999, he co-founded InMat LLC with his partner, Dr. Carrie Feeney, and with the support of their technical team. InMat has continued to lead the development of nanocomposite barrier coatings, and had its first commercial success when Wilson Sporting Goods introduced their Double Core tennis ball, the official ball of the Davis Cup, in July of 2001.
Andrew Wahl is the President & CEO of Optiva. Before joining Optiva, he was CFO and Corporate Secretary for PCTEL, Inc. where he lead their IPO and secondary offerings that raised over $200 million on NASDAQ, creating a market capitalization exceeding $2 billion. In addition to finance and investor relations, he also had responsibilities for manufacturing, quality, legal, human resources and administration. Prior to PCTEL, Mr. Wahl was President and CFO of Designs for Education, Inc. and CFO/COO of software company Starbase Corporation. He started his career at Arthur Andersen as a management consultant and held senior financial positions with Crown Zellerbach and The Santa Cruz Operations, Inc. He has an MBA from Rutgers University and a BA from Villanova University.
Donn Tice became the CEO of Nano-tex in January, 2003. Tice was formerly President, CEO and Director of Winterland, one of the world’s largest purchasers of cotton t-shirts, apparel, calendars and posters. Prior to Winterland, Tice served as CEO and Director for Abracon Corporation, a worldwide supplier of electronic components, and as President and Chief Operating Officer of HydraBaths, Inc, a leading supplier of whirlpool bath systems operating in the U.S., Europe and Asia, with distribution in 39 countries worldwide. Tice holds a BA in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a MBA from the University of Michigan.
Before his election to the Senate in 1996, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) spent 15 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. Recognized as an expert on technology policy, Wyden seeks out opportunities to build bipartisan coalitions on science and technology issues. Wyden has passed bipartisan laws prohibiting discriminatory taxes on Internet commerce, promoting the use of digital signatures, supporting cybersecurity research and development and creating a National Emergency Technology Guard to respond in times of natural or national disaster. As chairman of the Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space, Wyden also sponsored the Senate's first nanotechnology bill, introduced legislation to prohibit Internet jamming by repressive regimes, sponsored a resolution to guarantee consumers the same fair-use rights to digital material as to analog material, and issued a challenge to triple the number of women in this country graduating with degrees in math and the hard sciences.
Phil Bond was sworn in as Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology on October 30, 2001. From January 2002 through January 2003, Bond served concurrently as Chief of Staff to Commerce Secretary Don Evans. His experience in the private sector includes serving as Director of Federal Public Policy for the Hewlett-Packard Company, a position he held immediately before joining Commerce From 1993 to 1998, Phil Bond served as Chief of Staff to Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn (R-WA). He was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs from 1992 to 1993 for then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney. Earlier, he was Chief of Staff and Rules Committee Associate for Congressman Bob McEwen (R-OH) from 1990 to 1992. From 1987 to 1990, he served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs. He is a graduate of Linfield College in Oregon.
Mark Modzelewski is the Founder and Executive Director of the NanoBusiness Alliance where he serves as the day-to-day manager of Alliance strategy, programs, and development. In addition, he is the lead spokesperson for the Alliance and oversees the organization's Angel Network and Hubs Initiative. Mark also leads the recently launched NanoBusiness Development Group, a nanotech management, business and economic development consultacy. Previously, Mark was CEO of Red Hook Partners, a consulting firm that provided expert counsel and program implementation for a diverse clientele ranging from technology start-ups to Fortune 50 companies. While at Red Hook Mark also served as Vice President of Business Development for Opion -- a Virginia-based technology company that analyzed and monitored Internet activity. Opion's technology was sold to the Federal intelligence community in September 2001.