Robert C. Armstrong
Deputy Director, MIT Energy Initiative

Robert C. Armstrong, Professor of Chemical Engineering, has been a member of the MIT faculty since 1973 and served as head of the Department of Chemical Engineering from1996 to 2007. His research interests include polymer fluid mechanics, rheology of complex materials and energy.

Armstrong has received the Warren K. Lewis Award and the Professional Progress Award in 1992, both from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the 2006 Bingham Medal from the Society of Rheology, which is devoted to the study of the science of deformation and flow of matter.

Richard E. Williams P.E.
President, Shell WindEnergy, Inc

Richard “Dick” Williams is president of Shell WindEnergy, Inc. Based in Houston, Shell WindEnergy has interests in and operates approximately 1100 megawatts of wind power generation in the United States and Europe. Shell has eight wind projects in the United States and three in Europe, generating emission-free electricity that saves around 1 million tons of carbon dioxide a year compared to emissions from coal-fired power plants.

Dick joined Shell in 1980 after receiving an Electrical Engineering degree from Penn State University. Since joining Shell, Dick has worked in a wide variety of challenging engineering, project, operations, and commercial jobs, mostly in the pipeline business, prior to assuming his current role in early 2008. Dick maintains Professional Engineering licenses in the states of Texas, Pennsylvania and Louisiana.

Jason Pontin
Editor in Chief and Publisher, Technology Review

As editor in chief, Jason Pontin is responsible for the editorial direction of the award-winning magazine Technology Review and TechnologyReview.com. Pontin took on the role of publisher in September 2005, overseeing all aspects of the company's growth strategy, which includes a rapidly expanding website, specialty e-newsletters, an aggressive international expansion, and signature events, such as the annual Emerging Technologies Conference at MIT.

From 1996 to 2002, Pontin was the editor of the technology business magazine Red Herring. He has written for many national and international publications, including The New York Times, The Economist, The Financial Times, Wired, and The Believer. He is a frequent guest on television and radio shows, including ABC News, CNN, and National Public Radio.