Technology, Entrepreneurship, Creativity (TEC) Conference
iFest Design Day Speakers
Dr. Ronald L. Larsen
Dr. Ronald L. Larsen is professor and dean of the School of Information Sciences (the iSchool) at the University of Pittsburgh. He has led a number of studies for the National Science Foundation, helping to develop research priorities in digital libraries and information management. During the mid to late 1990s, Ron was the assistant director of the Information Technology Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), where he led research programs in digital libraries, information management, and cross-lingual information utilization, with particular emphases on interoperability and the development of performance metrics for large scale distributed information systems.
His career includes 17 years at the University of Maryland, where he served as assistant vice president for computing, associate director of libraries for information technology, executive director of a 10-university consortium on workforce development, and affiliate associate professor of computer science. Prior to that he was at NASA for 17 years, where he managed the agency’s research programs in automation and robotics, and developed its research program in computer science. Dr. Larsen holds a B.S. in Engineering Sciences from Purdue University, an M.S. in Applied Physics from Catholic University, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Maryland College Park.
Josh Sager
http://joshsagermedia.com/
Presentation topic: Creative Tinkering (keynote)
Josh Sager is a Web Developer in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. He fills his days slinging code as the Development Manager at Smith Brothers and his nights tinkering with Arduinos, programming raspberry PIs, and screen printing posters. His passion for learning has fueled a career in technology where his experiments have helped to define a diverse career path.
A path in which Josh has been a designer, a developer, a teacher, a manager, a director and a founder - but nothing can compare to his new role as father.
Always game to talk shop, Josh has lead workshops, presentations, and lectures on programming and design for teens as well as working professionals. You can follow him on twitter @joshsager.
Becca Serr
Designer and Researcher, MAYA
http://www.maya.com/about/
Presentation topic: Human-centered design
Becca Serr is a member of Maya’s Human Sciences team, and loves figuring out what makes people tick. She is skilled at asking the right questions during the design process, developing and running experiments to find the answers, and designing systems that help people to accomplish their goals.
Becca earned a B.A. in human biology from Stanford University and also studied at the IIT Institute of Design in Chicago. There, she deepened her understanding of what it means to be a human-centered designer. As an undergrad at Stanford, she was a research assistant in the Cognition, Language, and Learning Lab, conducting experiments with children to understand language development. After college, she worked as a writer and communication strategist for the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health for several years. She was also an interaction design intern with the Human Computer Interaction (HCI) Group at NASA Ames Research Center.
Traci Thomas
Designer and Researcher, MAYA
http://www.maya.com/about/
Presentation topic: Human-centered design
Traci Thomas is a designer and researcher in the Human Sciences Group at MAYA. Having an insatiable curiosity about the world and a passion for travel, she believes the power of design and innovation is rooted in the deep understanding of people.
Traci graduated from the Institute of Design in Chicago with a degree in design research and strategy and where she developed a strong interest in service design. Service design creates memorable stories by curating multiple interactions within a service across different touch points into meaningful user experiences. This interest led to various pursuits including co-founding the Chicago Service Design network, the first service design chapter founded in the U.S. bringing awareness to the service design discipline. She has also collaborated with a Chicago-based actor to show service organizations how combining theatre techniques with human-centered design can serve as an effective tool within the design process. Traci deepened her knowledge of innovation and research methodologies by working on the book 101 Design Methods: A Structured Approach for Driving Innovation in Your Organization by Vijay Kumar.
Terry Clark
Photographer
http://www.terryclark.com/
Terry Clark is an American photographer focusing on commercial and editorial portraiture and documentary projects. Born and raised in a small town in central Michigan, Clark is currently based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
At 15 he began photographing for his hometown daily newspaper. From that moment he was dedicated to documenting people and life around him. At 19 he was the director of photography for a newspaper group -- at the time, the youngest person in the country to hold that position. Clark later attended Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.
Clark’s work has appeared in some of the world’s finest publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Inc. Magazine, The Guardian, London Sunday Times and myriad others. His images have been published on four continents.
His work has received more than 150 regional, state and national awards. Clark has participated in multiple solo and group exhibitions in Michigan, Indiana and Pennsylvania.
John Mahood
http://imagebox.com/
John Mahood is the owner and creative director at Imagebox, a Pittsburgh-based branding, web design and Internet marketing company. The company started in 1996 as a freelance business and now employs 9 full-time designers, developers and marketers. John enjoys helping small businesses and nonprofit organizations realize their dreams. In his spare time, he organizes events for the Pittsburgh Web Design (http://www.meetup.com/pittsburghwebdesign/), Graphic Design (http://www.meetup.com/pittsburghgraphicdesign/) and Entrepreneur (http://www.meetup.com/pittsburghentrepreneur/) meetups. He also started and runs a wine tasting group called Grapenuts (http://grapenuts.org/).
Les Gies
Senior Account Manager, TechShop Pittsburgh
http://www.techshop.ws/pittsburgh.html
Les Gies is the Senior Account Manager at TechShop Pittsburgh. A graduate of University of Pittsburgh, Les holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering from the Swanson School. In his management role, Les connects local businesses, institutions, and various groups to membership access to the tools, skilled training, and vibrant community of TechShop. He proudly supports every aspect of the company’s mission to democratize the tools of innovation.
Dr. James Barry McGee, M.D.
Director, Laboratory for Educational Technology
Associate Professor of Medicine
Assistant Dean for Medical Education Technology
http://let.pitt.edu/
Dr. McGee is the Assistant Dean for Medical Education Technology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. At the medical school he directs the Laboratory for Educational Technology that created and supports a variety of eLearning programs. The most significant software developed by his lab is a virtual patient application that is now used by throughout the world by medical and health professional schools, professional societies, and major healthcare networks. In addition to his academic appointments Dr. McGee was the Editor for Web-based Education for the American Gastroenterological Association, and is currently the Co-Chair of the Virtual Patient Working Group at MedBiquitous (a medical education standards-developing organization) and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board at Decision Simulation.
Dr. McGee received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Louisiana State University. He was an intern, resident, chief resident and faculty member at the University of Florida Health Science Center in Jacksonville Florida before pursing advanced endoscopy training at Beth Israel in Boston and later joining the Harvard medical faculty. In 1996 he led the team at Harvard’s Institute for Education and Research that discovered and developed one of the first virtual patients, which are still used by Harvard medical students.
Dr. William R. McIvor, M.D.
Associate Director, Medical Student Programs, WISER Center
Dr. McIvor is the Associate Director of WISER for Medical Student Simulation Education. He received B.S. degrees from Beloit College and his M.D. degree from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine. He is an associate professor of anesthesiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. His residency training in anesthesiology occurred at the Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine. After fellowship training in cardiac anesthesiology at the University of Pittsburgh he was in private practice for four years before joining the faculty at Pitt.
Dr. McIvor is an accomplished teacher. He has received numerous departmental and University awards for teaching excellence. His interest is in bringing simulation education to the medical school curriculum. He has designed and taught simulation courses for first through fourth-year medical students focusing on airway management skills and topics in anesthesiology and critical care medicine. He is also director of simulation education for first-year anesthesiology residents and the director of the WISER MOCA simulation course. He has taught difficult airway management and anesthesia crisis leadership training for continuing medical education. Dr. McIvor has presented his work at the International Meeting on Medical Simulation, to the Society of Education in Anesthesiology, the Society of Cardiac Anesthesiology, and the American Society of Anesthesiologists. He is the chair-designee for the Society of Education in Anesthesiology’s Simulation Committee. His clinical interests are in thoracic and vascular anesthesia.
Francisco Souki
Advanced Game Designer | Schell Games LLC
http://www.schellgames.com/
Francisco is an Advanced Game Designer at Schell Games in Pittsburgh, PA where he designs and directs the development of entertainment experiences. He is a published author and is scheduled to present his work at the Guggenheim Museum in 2014. He earned his Masters in Entertainment Technology from Carnegie Mellon University. Before that, he worked as an Engineer, writer, stage manager and actor in his hometown of Caracas, Venezuela.
Dmitriy Babichenko
Dmitriy Babichenko is the first Professor of Practice at the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences. Dmitriy has over 15 years of industry experience in programming, software architecture design and project management. His recent work focuses on development of web-based interactive educational systems. Over the course of his career, Dmitriy has organized and led workshops on photography, programming and working with hardware. When he is not writing code, spends his free time attempting to turn his two daughters into geeks.
