The world-wide need for more usable water is a critical issue in environmental sustainability. Current water technologies are not effectively delivering the quantity of low-cost, energy-efficient, clean water needed. In this panel discussion, experts discuss why there are so few investments in water, where the opportunities lie for entrepreneurs and information technology, and what cleantech startups need to know about this sector. This program is edited from an MIT/Stanford Venture Lab event entitled "Blue Tech: Is Water's Dry Spell Over?"
Susan Leal, a senior fellow at Harvard University, is the co-author of Running Out of Water, a book exploring the solutions to the world’s impending water crisis. Previously, she ran the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC). Leal earned a B.A. in economics and a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. She is a member of the District of Columbia bar, the Advisory Board of the Department Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley and is an associate of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard.
David Stanton has been CEO and president of APTwater, Inc. since 2010. Before joining APTwater, he was COO and CFO for SouthWest Water Company. Previously, Stanton served as an executive vice president, interim CFO, and senior vice president of corporate development for Earth Tech, Inc., a division of Tyco International. At Earth Tech, he led the International Asset Management Division focused on designing, building, operating and financing of water and wastewater projects worldwide. He has a B.S. in electrical engineering from Cornell University.
Aaron H. Mandell co-founded Oasys Water, Inc., in 2008 where he currently serves as president and CEO. His business career began as the co-founder of GreatPoint Ventures, an early stage venture creation firm, and since then has expanded to the founding of several cleantech/energy companies including GreatPoint Energy (coal gasification), Coskata (waste-to-fuels), and Altarock (enhanced geothermal power). Mandell obtained his B.S. and M.S. in environmental engineering from the University of Vermont and has held visiting scientist appointments at MIT and Tel-Aviv University.
Lee Ng is the Director of Venture Technology at Siemens Technology-to-Business Center based in Berkeley, California, where she funds innovative technology ideas and early stage startups. Her current focus lies in industrial automation, drive technologies, water and energy. Before Siemens, Ng worked at Agilent Central Research Laboratories as the business director of new business creation. Prior to that, she was at Hewlett Packard and Ampersand Ventures. She holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in materials engineering from MIT, with minors in economics, finance, and strategy.
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