E2DS 2011

Robert Brammer

Vice President for Advanced Technology and CTO, Northrop Grumman Information Systems

He previously served as the vice president for Advanced Technology and Quality and CTO for Northrop Grumman’s Information Technology (IT) sector. In that role, he was responsible for the sector’s technology strategy and investments, for solution architecture and technology oversight on major programs and proposals, and for quality management throughout the sector. He also managed the IT sector’s Technical Fellows program and Technical Mentoring program, recognizing and developing the sector’s top technology talent.

Prior to assuming IT sector responsibilities, Dr. Brammer worked for TASC, an advanced technology division of Northrop Grumman, serving as its CTO and, previously, as director of its Physical Sciences Division. In his CTO position he was responsible for TASC’s technology strategy and investments, and also worked on a dual assignment as the CTO for Primark, a previous TASC parent corporation, where he led technology infusion from TASC into Primark’s global financial information businesses, emphasizing telecommunications, web technology, security, and analytics. In his director role, Dr. Brammer led numerous research and development programs in high-performance computing, digital image processing and geophysical sciences for programs within the U.S. national security community. He also led the development of the first commercial weather satellite ground station, as part of a real-time commercial weather information business.

Before joining Northrop Grumman, Dr. Brammer was with NASA where he worked on Apollo and Skylab with a focus on real-time software for tracking, command, telemetry, and communications.

Dr. Brammer has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Michigan, and master's and doctoral degrees in mathematics from the University of Maryland. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi and is a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. He received achievement awards for work on the Apollo program and for principal investigator research on NASA and NOAA satellite remote-sensing programs. He is a Fellow of both the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers and the American Meteorological Society. He is also a senior member or member of several other professional societies, including the IEEE, MAA, SIAM, SMPTE and AGU. Dr. Brammer has published numerous scientific and technical research papers.

He has served on advisory boards for the Department of Defense (Defense Science Board), the National Academy of Sciences, the Naval Studies Board, the National Science Foundation, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, and NASA. He is also a member of the External Relations Council for the Internet2 Consortium, the Virginia governor’s Broadband Roundtable, the Dean’s Council for the College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, and the board of visitors for the College of Computer, Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the University of Maryland. Dr. Brammer was recently named by Security Magazine as one of the 25 most influential people in the security industry and by ExecutiveBiz as one of the top ten CTOs in the Greater Washington DC area to watch in 2009.

Bob Charette Jr.

Colonel - US Marine Corps

Major professional schools attended; The Basic School (1986), Naval Fight Training (1988), FA-18 Flight Training (1989), Navy Fighter Weapons School (1991), Tactical Air Control Party School (1993), Weapons and Tactics Instructor course (1994), and Aviation Safety Officers course (1998), Army Command and General Staff College (2000-2001), Marine Corps Commanders course (2004), and the National War College (2007).

Units served and billets; VMFA-235 Embarkation and Pilot Training Officer (1989-1993), 3d Battalion/3d Marines Air Officer and Operations Officer (1993), VMFA-312 Admin Officer and Pilot Training Officer (1993-1995). VMFA-451 Aircraft Maintenance Officer and Operations Officer (1995-1997), Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron-1 FA-18 Instructor, Director of Safety and Standardization, and Tactical Aircraft Department Head (1997-2000). I Marine Expeditionary Force G-5 CENTCOM Planner (2001), Task Force-58 Air Officer (2001-2002), VMFA-314 Executive Officer (2002-2003), VMFA-323 Commanding Officer (2003-2005), Marine Aircraft Group-11 Operations Officer (2005-2006). Joint Staff J8, Chief Joint Requirements Oversight Council Secretariat (2007-2009). Joint Chief of Staff Working Group, USMC Representative (2009). Director, Expeditionary Energy Office (2009-Present) as such Col Charette is tasked with analyzing, developing and directing the USMC Energy Strategy.

Participated directly in the following combat operations; Operation Desert Storm, Kuwait/Iraq (1991), Operation Southern Watch, Iraq (1995), Operation Deliberate Force, Bosnia (1995), Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan (2001-2002), Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq (2005). He also participated in three deployments to the Western Pacific, two in support of the Unit Deployment Program (1992 and 1996). In addition, Col Charette has made three deployments afloat, one aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) with Carrier Air Wing 8 (1995), and two aboard the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) with Carrier Air Wing 9 (2003 and 2005).

His personal decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service, Meritorious Service Medal with two gold stars, Air Medal with combat distinguishing device, Air Medal Strike/Flight Award numeral six, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with combat distinguishing device and two gold stars, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and seven Sea Service Deployment ribbons. He has earned “Top Ten” honors with Carrier Air Wing 8 and Carrier Air Wing 9. Col Charette was awarded the 1996, “Alfred A. Cunningham Award” for being selected as the Marine Corps’ Aviator of the Year. Colonel Charette is married to the former Donna Nardini of Thornwood, New York. They have two sons, Robert and John.

Nancy Colleton

President, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies

Affiliations include:

• Member, Committee on Strategic Directions for the Geographical Sciences in the Next Decade of the National Research Council;
• Co-chair, Environmental Information Services Working Group (EISWG) of the NOAA Science Advisory Board (SAB);
• Lead, Specialty Group on Environmental Information for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
• Board Member, of the GeoEye Foundation;
• Member, Editorial Board of Imaging Notes Magazine;
• Member, International Program Committee, American Astronautical Society; and
• Member, Women in Aerospace (WIA)

Lorenzo Fiori

Chief Technical Officer, Finmeccanica

Born in Milan on 20th of January 1959

Graduated in Mechanics and Electronics Engineering at the University "Politecnico di Milano"

Since 2007 joined Finmeccanica Corporate as VP for Strategy Development and appointed last July 2010 as SVP - Chief Technical Director.

Michael Freilich

Director, Earth Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA

Dr. Freilich's research focuses on the determination, validation, and geophysical analysis of ocean surface wind velocity measured by satellite-borne microwave radar and radiometer instruments. He has developed scatterometer and altimeter wind model functions, as well as innovative validation techniques for accurately quantifying the accuracy of spaceborne environmental measurements.

Dr. Freilich served as the NSCAT Project Scientist from 1983-1991 and as the Mission Principal Investigator for NSCAT from 1992-1997. Until he relinquished his project posts to join NASA HQ, he was the Mission PI for QuikSCAT (launched in June, 1999) and SeaWinds/ADEOS-2 (launched in December, 2002). He was the team leader of the NASA Ocean Vector Winds Science Team and is a member of the QuikSCAT, SeaWinds, and Terra/AMSR Validation Teams, as well as the NASDA (Japanese Space Agency) ADEOS-2 Science Team.

Dr. Freilich has served on many NASA, National Research Council (NRC), and research community advisory and steering groups, including the WOCE Science Steering Committee, the NASA EOS Science Executive Committee, the NRC Ocean Studies Board, and several NASA data system review committees. He chaired the NRC Committee on Earth Studies, and served on the NRC Space Studies Board and the Committee on NASA/NOAA Transition from Research to Operations.

His honors include the JPL Director's Research Achievement Award (1988), the NASA Public Service Medal (1999), and the American Meteorological Society's Verner E. Suomi Award (2004), as well as several NASA Group Achievement awards. Freilich was named a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society in 2004.

Freilich's non-scientific passions include nature photography and soccer refereeing at the youth, high school, and adult levels.

Tom Hicks

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the US Navy (Energy)

Mr. Hicks joined the Department of the Navy from the U.S. Green Building Council where he held several executive roles. As Vice President of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system, Mr. Hicks led the development and implementation of all LEED rating systems. During his tenure, he led the three-fold growth of LEED activity as well as the expansion of the LEED family of rating systems from four to ten unique rating systems. As Vice President for International Programs, Mr. Hicks led the development of USGBC's international enterprise quadrupling global activity in LEED in two years. Most recently, he spearheaded a new strategic venture on behalf of USGBC - the Building Performance Initiative - to ensure that all green buildings meet or exceed their energy and environmental performance goals.

From 1996 to October 2004, Mr. Hicks was a Senior Program Manager at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency within the Energy Star for Buildings program. In this role, Mr. Hicks served as the principal architect of the Energy Star commercial building rating system, the nation's largest and best-known energy efficiency initiative which has been utilized to assess the energy performance of over 70,000 buildings totaling over 10 billion square feet of floor space nationally.

From 1992 to February 1996, Mr. Hicks led the formation of the energy efficiency program for the U.S. Navy Public Works Center Washington. In this capacity, Mr. Hicks created and led the team which performed energy audits on over 15 million square feet of floor space and completed energy efficiency upgrades totaling more than $50 million in value at various U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps installations.

Mr. Hicks received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland.

Mary Kicza

Assistant Administrator for Satellite & Information Services, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Ms. Kicza is a leader in the international Earth observation community, serving as the NOAA Principal to the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and former Chair of the CEOS Strategic Implementation Group. In this capacity, she leads efforts to coordinate global satellite-based observations among international space agency partners to further the development of a Global Earth Observation System of Systems. In addition, Ms. Kicza serves as the Co-Chair of the NOAA Observing Systems Council, a group which coordinates observing systems requirements and provides resource recommendations for NOAA's observation platforms. She is also a member of the NOAA Executive Council, NOAA's executive decision making body.

Before coming to NOAA, Ms. Kicza was the Associate Deputy Administrator for Systems Integration at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). As a senior leader within NASA, she was responsible for assuring that the mission and mission support elements were effectively aligned and integrated. She served previously as the Associate Administrator for Biological/Physical Research, the Associate Center Director for Goddard Space Flight Center, the Assistant Associate Administrator for Space Science, and the Deputy Director of the Solar System Exploration Division. Ms. Kicza began her career as an engineer at McClellan Air Force Base in California, before joining NASA in 1982 as a lead engineer supporting the Atlas Centaur and Shuttle Centaur launch vehicles.

Ms. Kicza has served with distinction in a variety of technical, managerial, and leadership posts, supporting the development, launch, and operation of satellite systems as well as multi-faceted research and development programs. She has significant experience in building and maintaining effective relationships with the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Defense Department, Congress, the aerospace industry, and a diverse research community. Ms. Kicza has earned a Presidential Rank Award, two SES Meritorious Service Awards, NASA's Distinguished Service and Scientific Achievement Medal, a Department of Commerce Gold Medal, and numerous other awards.

Ms. Kicza received her Bachelor's Degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from California State University and a Master's Degree in Business Administration from the Florida Institute of Technology.

Ray Mabus

United States Secretary of the Navy

The Secretary of the Navy is responsible for conducting all the affairs of the Department of the Navy, including recruiting, organizing, supplying, equipping, training, and mobilizing. Additionally, he oversees the construction, outfitting, and repair of naval ships, equipment and facilities, and is responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies and programs that are consistent with the national security policies and objectives established by the President and the Secretary of Defense.

Prior to joining the administration of President Barack Obama, Mabus served in a variety of top posts in government and the private sector. In 1988, Mabus was elected Governor of Mississippi. As the youngest governor of Mississippi in more than 100 years at the time of his election, he stressed education and job creation. He passed B.E.S.T. (Better Education for Success Tomorrow), one of the most comprehensive education reform programs in America, and was named one of Fortune Magazine's top ten education governors. He was appointed Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the Clinton Administration in 1994. During his tenure as Ambassador, a crisis with Iraq was successfully averted and Saudi Arabia officially abandoned the boycott of United States businesses that trade with Israel. He also was Chairman and CEO of Foamex, a large manufacturing company, which he led out of bankruptcy in less than nine months paying all creditors in full and saving equity. Prior to becoming Governor, he was elected State Auditor of Mississippi and served as a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy aboard the cruiser USS Little Rock.

In June 2010, President Obama asked Secretary Mabus to prepare a long-term recovery plan for the Gulf of Mexico in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. After extensive travel and many meetings, his report "America's Gulf Coast: A Long-Term Recovery Plan After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill" was released in September 2010. The report was met with broad bi-partisan support.

Secretary Mabus is a native of Ackerman, Mississippi, and received a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Mississippi, a Master's Degree from Johns Hopkins University, and a Law Degree from Harvard Law School. He has been awarded the U.S. Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award, the U.S. Army's distinguished Civilian Service Award, the Martin Luther King Social Responsibility Award from the King Center in Atlanta, the National Wildlife Federation Conservation Achievement Award, the King Abdul Aziz Award from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Mississippi Association of Educators' Friend of Education Award.

Jonathan Malay

Director, Civil Space & Environment Programs, Lockheed Martin Corporation Washington Operations

He began his career in 1973 as a Navy Surface Warfare Officer and was subsequently selected for specialist duty in meteorology and oceanography. In the 1980's he further specialized in space-based remote sensing and was a finalist for NASA Astronaut selection. He retired from active duty at the rank of Commander in 1993 after two at-sea tours and various assignments including the Naval Space Command, the Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy, and the National Reconnaissance Office.

As a civilian, after working briefly at Orbital Sciences Corp. and at the Satellite and Information Service of NOAA, he joined Ball Aerospace in 1995 and then Lockheed Martin in 2003.

Mr. Malay holds degrees in Oceanography and Meteorology from the U.S. Naval Academy and the Naval Postgraduate School. He is a Fellow and Past-President of the American Astronautical Society (AAS), an Associate Fellow and current Region I (Northeast US) Director of the American Institute for Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA), and is also a Fellow and current President of the American Meteorological Society (AMS). He is the author of the 2003 novel Seraphim Sky and co-author of the 2004 National Geographic Encyclopedia of Space. He resides in historic Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Arun Majumdar

Director, Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E)

Prior to joining ARPA-E, Majumdar was the Associate Laboratory Director for Energy and Environment at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. His highly distinguished research career includes the science and engineering of energy conversion, transport, and storage ranging from molecular and nanoscale level to large energy systems. In 2005, Majumdar was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering for this pioneering work.

At Berkeley Labs and UC Berkeley, Majumdar helped shape several strategic initiatives in the areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy storage. He also testified before Congress on how to reduce energy consumption in buildings. Majumdar has also served on the advisory committee of the National Science Foundation's engineering directorate, was a member of the advisory council to the materials sciences and engineering division of the Department of Energy's Basic Energy Sciences, and was an advisor on nanotechnology to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Additionally, Majumdar has served as an advisor to startup companies and venture capital firms in the Silicon Valley.

He received his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in 1985 and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1989.)

Christophe Nussli

Programme Manager, Climate Change, Institutional and Business Development, Thales

He joined the Space division of Alcatel in 1996 as a system engineer for the satellite mobile broadcast projects Worldspace and XM radio, and from 2000 held several positions in the Marketing and sales department of Alcatel Space, including Business development director in charge of Mobile Systems.

He was appointed Strategy & Business Development Vice President at Alcatel Mobile Broadcast for the Alcatel "Unlimited Mobile TV" initiative that lead to the European Solaris Satellite Mobile TV & Radio project in 2006.

Consecutive to the transfer of Alcatel Space activities to the Thales group in 2007, he has been in charge of coordinating and harnessing the business opportunities linked to environmental and Climate Change issues for Thales Alenia Space. He is representing Thales at the governing board of the Climate Knowledge & Innovation Community of the European Institute of Technology (EIT) ; he is also co-author of several scientific publications related to the use of space technologies for climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.

He received a Master of Electrical Engineering and a PhD degree in Solid State physics and micro-electronics

Franklin Nutter

President, Reinsurance Association of America (RAA)

In the interim, he was president of the Alliance of American Insurers and the Property Loss Research Bureau, which have now merged to be part of the PCI (Property Casualty Insurance Association of America).

Mr. Nutter currently serves on the Board of the International Hurricane Research Center; the Advisory Board of the Center for Health and the Global Environment, an adjunct to the Harvard University Medical School; the Board of the Angus Robinson, Jr., Memorial Foundation; and the Advisory Board of the OECD's International Network for the Financial Management of Large Scale Disasters. He formerly served on the Council of the American Meteorological Society; the Board of the University Center for Atmospheric Research, a consortium of universities managing the National Center for Atmospheric Research sponsored by the National Science Foundation; and the Board of the Bermuda Institute for Ocean Sciences.

He has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Worker's Compensation Research Institute, and the Board of Overseers of the Institute for Civil Justice, a subsidiary of the Rand Corporation.

Mr. Nutter has a Juris Doctorate from the Georgetown University Law Center and a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Cincinnati. Mr. Nutter was an officer in the U.S. Navy and is a Vietnam veteran. He is listed in Who's Who in America and Insurance Broadcasting's 2011 List of the 100 Most Powerful People in the Insurance Industry.

Rhone Resch

President and CEO, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)

He holds an MPA in Management from Syracuse University's Maxwell School, a Master of Environmental Engineering from SUNY Syracuse, and a B.A. from the University of Michigan. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife Lisa and two children.

Rhone lives in a solar - powered home in Washington, DC - click here to see a live feed from the system.

David Titley

Rear Admiral - Oceanographer and Navigator of the Navy

Titley served over 10 years at sea, including a tour as navigator aboard USS Farragut (DDG 37), and tours as oceanographer aboard USS Belleau Wood (LHA 3), USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), Carrier Group Six and U.S. 7th Fleet.

Shore tours include serving on the staff of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and as the senior military assistant to the director of Net Assessment in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Titley has commanded the Fleet Numerical Meteorological and Oceanographic Center in Monterey, and was the first commanding officer of the Naval Oceanography Operations Command. He served his initial flag tour as commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command.

Education includes a B.S. in Meteorology from the Pennsylvania State University, a M.S. in Meteorology and Physical Oceanography and Ph.D. in Meteorology, both from the Naval Postgraduate School. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Seminar XXI on Foreign Politics, International Relations and National Interest, and is a fellow of the American Meteorological Society.

In 2009, Titley assumed duties as oceanographer and navigator of the Navy and director, Task Force Climate Change.

John Tracy

Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President - Engineering, Operations & Technology, Boeing

Previously, Tracy was vice president of Engineering & Mission Assurance for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. Tracy had functional management responsibility for the IDS engineering processes, engineering tools, and the 32,000-person engineering team.

In addition to being a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the Royal Aeronautical Society, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Tracy has authored more than 30 publications, received numerous Hispanic Engineering honors, and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Illinois Institute of Technology and the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

Tracy earned his PhD in Engineering from the University of California - Irvine, and has a Master's and Bachelor's in Physics from California State University at Los Angeles and Dominguez Hills, respectively.

Carlo Viviani

Director for Energy and Climate change, Department for EU Affairs Italian Prime Minister's Office

His responsibilities include coordination, definition and representation of the Italian position in the policy making of the European Union on energy and climate change, but also on environment and the Lisbon Strategy (now Europe 2020). In this position, he has been at the center of all the negotiations related to the EU Energy and Climate Change package, such as those on renewable energies, on emissions trading, on auctioning of emissions allowances, on carbon capture and storage, and on the emissions of automobiles and commercial vehicles.

Carlo represents his Department in the National Committee for Greenhouse Gases and in the board of the World Energy Council (Italy). He is a member of the National Working Group on the selection of innovative RES and CCS projects under the NER-300 European initiative.

In 2010, Carlo has been admitted to the Catto Fellowship Program on environmental leadership of the Aspen Institute (USA). He is a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies and of Aspen Institute Italia.

Carlo took a Laurea in Economics summa cum laude at LUISS in 1991. After the military service, in 1993 he joined the Office of the President Emeritus of the Italian Republic, Sen. Francesco Cossiga, as Economic and EU affairs advisor; since 1999-2005, he also was his Director for Press and Communication. In 2001-2005, he was Economic Advisor on innovation, research policies, and FDI attraction at Ambrosetti-European House, Milan.

Since 1993, Carlo has been researching, publishing and teaching Economic Policy and European Economic Policy at LUISS "Guido Carli" University in Rome