In one afternoon you will hear three keynote quality speakers present information critical to our understanding of the Bay Area’s business climate.  You will hear their prospective on “what’s next” in three critical areas: Solar Technology, Health Care and the US Economy.    

Featured Speakers

Robert Fry, Senior Economist, DuPont
Dr. Doug Rose, Vice President, Technology Strategy, SunPower Corporation
Dr. Geetha Rao, Vice President, Strategy and Risk Management, Triple Ring Technologies
Facilitator: Barbara Roberts, President & CEO, Wright Engineered Plastics

All proceeds will benefit Engineers Without Borders - USA, San Francisco Professional Chapter.  Established in 2004, EWB-SFP engages local professional engineers and interested persons in Engineers Without Borders - USA projects and programs. Our broad mission is to help developing communities worldwide with a hands on approach involving engineering professionals and students.

Speaker Bios

Robert Fry, Senior Economist, DuPont

Robert Fry returns to the Bay Area to provide a look at the economic indicators and forecasts that are shaping our future.  Dr. Fry analyzes and forecasts global macroeconomics and its impact on the DuPont businesses worldwide.

Dr. Fry has been named among the top forecasters by The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Bloomberg.  In November 2005, he won the prestigious Lawrence R. Klein Award for Blue Chip Forecast Accuracy, making DuPont the only three-time winner of this award.

Dr. Fry began his DuPont career with Conoco in 1984, moved to the DuPont economist's office in 1987, and was a fixed income analyst for DuPont's pension fund in 1993 and 1994. In his current role, Robert analyzes and forecasts the global economy and its impact on DuPont, and is the author of Current Business Developments, a monthly newsletter. Robert holds a bachelor's degree from Ohio University and a master's and Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Dr. Doug Rose, Vice President, Technology Strategy, SunPower Corporation

Doug Rose joined SunPower in 2002 and currently holds the position of Vice President, Technology Strategy.  Previous roles at SunPower include Product Engineering Manager of the company's cell pilot line, Director of Module Research & Development, and Technology Development Director.  His career spans more than 20 years of manufacturing technology development, thin-film PV research, silicon cell and module development, and technology assessment at GTE, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, First Solar, and SunPower Corporation. Dr. Rose has degrees in mechanical engineering from Iowa State and Stanford University, and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Colorado. He has 60 publications and patents in the field of solar energy.
 

Dr. Geetha Rao, VP, Strategy and Risk Management, Triple Ring Technologies

Dr. Rao has consulted on regulatory issues to major multi-nationals in medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology, healthcare providers, government agencies, trade associations, non-profit organizations, venture and investment firms, and law firms.  She has served on several international policy making bodies, and as an invited expert to regulatory agencies, including the FDA, ISO Technical Committees, GHTF, and European Notified Bodies. Dr. Rao’s focus has been on regulatory and legal problem-solving for submissions, FDA and notified body inspections and audits, adverse events, and liability. She has addressed numerous industry forums and the press on issues of management of product quality, process quality, and business risks.

Dr. Rao is on the board of the ASQ Northern California Biomedical Discussion Group, chairs the MIT/Stanford Venture Lab’s Emerging Business Track for Life Sciences, is guest faculty on Stanford University’s Biodesign Innovation Program, and serves on the Life Sciences Committee for Astia, the leading organization supporting women-founded and women-led start-ups, and as advisor to several non-profits.

Dr. Rao is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and also holds a doctorate from MIT and a master’s degree from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. She has held Professional Engineer licenses in Civil and Mechanical Engineering in the State of California.

Barbara Roberts (Facilitator), President & CEO, Wright Engineered Plastics

Ms. Roberts is President and CEO of Wright Engineered Plastics, supplier of custom plastic components and assemblies to leading OEMs such as Abbott Labs, Agilent Technologies, Parker Hannifin and JDS Uniphase. 

Ms. Roberts is also Project Manager of the Appropriate Technologies Design Team of Engineers without Borders, past President of the Silicon Valley Engineering Council, past President of the Society of Plastic Engineers, and past Chapter Chair of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.  She has produced more than 20 educational seminars on numerous topics, including plastic design.  She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from UC Berkeley.

About Engineers Without Borders
San Francisco Professional Chapter 

Engineers Without Borders — San Francisco Professional Chapter (EWB-SFP) supports community-driven development programs worldwide through the design and implementation of sustainable engineering projects, while fostering responsible leadership.

Our vision is a world in which all communities have the capacity to meet their basic human needs.

Some of our current projects include:

• Enabling women to spend time in entrepreneurial activities instead of carrying water for several hours a day, while at the same time increasing the reliability of water supply and agricultural productivity for all in the community, through a village-wide water distribution system in Ngelenge, Tanzania.
• Providing a vital transportation link and evacuation route by building bridges to serve 3 remote municipalities in Honduras.
• Combatting bacterial diarrhea, Hepatitis A, and other illnesses caused by parasitic contamination with improved sanitation and a safer potable water supply in San Juan de Dios, El Salvador.
• Bringing medical and dental care to 80,000 people in the Bayonnais valley of Haiti by designing and constructing a health clinic, as well as continuing to optimize solar hybrid electricity systems to power the school for local students dedicated to becoming educated professionals.
• Stemming an outbreak of typhoid fever by providing clean sources of filtered water in Fiji.

Our Appropriate Technologies Design Team is also developing solutions for NGOs in Guatemala, Philippines, West Africa, Nicaragua, and Afghanistan.