Benjamin H. Wu Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology

Ben Wu was sworn in as Deputy Under Secretary for Technology at the U.S. Department of Commerce on November 6, 2001. In this capacity, he supervises policy development, direction, and management at the Technology Administration (TA), a bureau of over 4,000 employees that includes the Office of Technology Policy (OTP), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the National Technical Information Service (NTIS).  TA serves as the principal resource to support Commerce Secretary Don Evans in developing policies to maximize science and technology's contribution to America's economic growth. Some of Ben’s priorities have included supporting entrepreneurship and innovation, strengthening U.S. technology cooperation with other countries, enhancing research and development in our nation’s federal laboratory systems, and creating greater collaboration between government, industry, and universities. Ben also participates in activities with the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), a Cabinet-level council established by the President to coordinate science, space, and technology policy within the Federal research and development enterprise, and is the Executive Secretary for the NSTC Committee on Technology.  Prior to joining Commerce, Ben held senior staff positions in the U.S. Congress where he led on issues affecting United States technology and competitiveness policy. He worked in Congress from 1988, h aving served as Counsel to Congresswoman Constance A. Morella of Maryland and on the Science Committee, first serving on the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee staff in 1993 and then on the Technology Subcommittee from 1995 until his current appointment. Ben has extensive experience focusing on information technology, biomedical technology, and technology transfer policy. He was the primary congressional staff on legislation affecting federal intellectual property and federal technology transfer. Additionally, Ben has worked on Technology Administration issues since TA's inception in 1989, with particular emphasis on NIST. Ben was also the most senior member and the lead Committee staff of the House Y2K Task Force that directed congressional efforts to correct the Year 2000 computer problem.  Ben received a Bachelor of Arts from New York University in 1985 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh in 1988.

Charles C. Evans Vice President, National Innovation Initiative

Chad Evans is Vice President of the Council on Competitiveness National Innovation Initiative – a 15-month, private sector-led effort aimed at developing a National Innovation Agenda for the United States. Co-chaired by IBM Chairman and CEO Samuel J. Palmisano and Georgia Institute of Technology President G. Wayne Clough, the NII involves the active participation of nearly 400 innovation thought-leaders and stakeholders across the country.  He also spearheads the Council's benchmarking efforts – including its flagship publication, The Competitiveness Index, chaired by Professor Michael Porter of the Harvard Business School. Chad’s work to date at the Council has focused on understanding the globalization of R&D investments, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the U.S. innovation platform, and benchmarking national innovative capacities in developed and emerging economies. A Senior Associate with the Council during the 1990s, Chad returned to the Council and Washington, DC after a stint in Deloitte & Touche’s National Research and Analysis office, where he provided the firm’s senior leadership with daily competitive intelligence briefings. He holds a Master’s of Science in Foreign Service from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, an Honors concentration in International Business Diplomacy from Georgetown's Landegger Program, and a BA from Emory University. Involved in alumni affairs, he has served as a member of Georgetown's Master of Science in Foreign Service Admissions Committee.

Dr. Johanna M.H. Levelt Sengers  NIST Scientist Emeritus

Johanna M.H. Levelt Sengers was born and educated in the Netherlands, where she obtained her doctorate in physics at the Van der Waals Laboratory of the University of Amsterdam in 1959. In 1963, she and her husband emigrated to the United States, where they assumed research positions at the National Bureau of Standards, presently the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). They raised four children. Since her retirement in 1995, she has been a Scientist Emeritus in the Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory at NIST. She recently published a book on aspects of the history of her field of science. She currently co-chairs a panel “Women for Science” of the InterAcademy Council. The panel will advise the world’s science academies on attracting, retaining and promoting women in science, engineering and technology. At NIST, Levelt Sengers and her collaborators have worked and published extensively on the thermophysical properties of fluids and fluid mixtures, particularly near critical points, both for scientific and practical applications. She was a Group Leader in the Thermophysics Division from 1979 to 1987. She is a recipient of the DOC Silver and Gold Medals. She was elected a NIST Fellow in 1985. Levelt Sengers holds an honorary doctorate of the Technical University Delft. She is a correspondent of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering and of the National Academy of Sciences. She was the North American Laureate of the 2003 L’Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science.