Celebrating 200 Years: GW on the Pulse of Space & Technology
Location
If you have not received your unique link to join the event by 6:30pm EDT on Tuesday, July 13, you may use the link below to join the event.
go.gwu.edu/pulseofspaceandtech
For questions, please contact Molly Kastendieck at mollyck@gwu.edu or alumni@gwu.edu.
This event will take place via Zoom. Login details will be provided the day prior to the event date. Please note that this event will take place at 6:30pm EDT.
Event Description
For decades, GW’s world-renowned faculty, students, and alumni have built a rich legacy at the forefront of science, technology, and space exploration—from revolutionary Big Bang Theory research and NASA’s first female spacecraft project manager to countless cutting-edge innovations. Join us as four alumni leaders discuss how their GW experiences influenced their truly stellar work.
Meet the Panelists
Dr. Anousheh Ansari, SEAS MS ’92, is an astronaut, a hi-tech serial entrepreneur and a global change maker. She is currently the CEO of the XPRIZE Foundation, the world’s leader in designing and operating large incentive competitions to solve humanity’s grand challenges. Since joining the organization, she has started several new initiatives focused on a greater incorporation and use of data, artificial intelligence and machine learning in the work of the foundation. Dr. Ansari is the co-founder of Prodea Systems and co-founder, former chairwoman and CEO of Telecom Technologies, Inc. (TTI). She made news in 2006 as the first Iranian-American and first female Muslim in space, spending 10 days on the International Space Station.
Lori Garver, ESIA MA ’89, is the CEO of Earthrise, a philanthropy that creates meaningful earth science content from satellite data to inform and activate educators, journalists and decision makers to combat climate change and sustain humanity on planet Earth. Ms. Garver served as Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) from 2009 to 2013 and led the agency’s transition team for President-Elect Obama. Previous senior positions have included General Manager of the Air Line Pilots Association,a union representing over 60,000 commercial airline pilots, and Associate Administrator for Policy and Plans at NASA in the Clinton Administration.
Dr. Ya-Qin Zhang, SEAS D.Sc. ’90, is Chair, Professor and Dean of the Institute for AI Industry Research (AIR) at Tsinghua University in Beijing. A world-renowned scientist and business executive, he previously served as the President of Baidu Corporation, a leading internet company based in Beijing, China, overseeing the Autonomous Driving, Cloud Computing, Emerging Business, and Technology divisions. Prior to Baidu, Dr. Zhang was a key executive at Microsoft for 16 years, serving as Corporate Vice President and Chair/Cofounder of Microsoft Asia-Pacific Research and Development Group. Dr. Zhang was inducted to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2019. He is one of the top scientists in digital video and multimedia, with 558 papers in leading international conferences and journals, 62 granted US patents, and 11 books.
Moderator: Kei Koizumi, ESIA MA ’95, is the Chief of Staff for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Prior to the Biden-Harris administration, he was the Lead for the National Science Foundation Agency Review team and a member of the OSTP Agency Review team on the Biden-Harris Transition. Mr. Koizumi previously served as Senior Advisor for Science Policy at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In the Obama-Biden administration, Mr. Koizumi was Assistant Director for Federal Research & Development and Senior Advisor to the National Science and Technology Council at OSTP. Previously, he was the Director of the AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program.
The George Washington University’s bicentennial is an incredible, historic milestone. With 27,000+ students from more than 135 countries, a worldwide community of 300,000+ living alumni, and thousands of faculty and staff, the GW community is coming together to celebrate 200 years of phenomenal growth.