Dr. Dinesh Keskar was appointed to the position of senior vice president of Sales in August 2004. Prior to being appointed to this position, Dr. Keskar was the president of Boeing India, responsible for the company's sales and marketing, airline support and industrial activities in India.

Before joining Boeing, Dr. Keskar worked as a research associate in the Flight Dynamics and Control Division at NASA Langley Research Center. Dr. Keskar is a board member for the U.S.-India Business Council. He has been an active member of Indian community organizations in the United States.

Born in 1954, in Rajkot, India, Dr. Keskar received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from India. He received his master's and doctorate degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Cincinnati. Further, he received his master's of business administration from City University in Seattle.

Presentation: Improving The Quality Of Life Through Technology

Iqbal Quadir is Founder Director of the Program in Developmental Entrepreneurship at MIT. From 2001 to 2005, Quadir has been a fellow & lecturer at the J. F. K. School of Government at Harvard University, teaching graduate-level courses on the effect of technology in developing countries. Quadir develops economically sustainable methods for laymen to adopt technologies, thus consistently reaping their benefits. Such technological empowerment scales up organically, and contributes to strengthening democratic forces and making economies more equitable and progressive. Quadir is currently involved in projects of this nature in the areas of electricity, potable water, and market information.

In 1999, Quadir was selected Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum. Quadir’s work has been recognized as a successful development model by leaders and organizations around the world, appearing on television and cited in numerous articles and several books.

Presentation: Technology Empowers

Russell D. (Russ) Turner is the President of Aerospace Consulting Services, offering Strategic Planning and Executive Development services to the Aerospace Industry. Prior to establishing ACS in 2005, Turner was the President of the Honeywell Engines, Systems, and Services business and the Honeywell Air Transport and Regional business. Before joining Honeywell, Turner was the president and CEO of United Space Alliance (USA).

Turner previously held a series of increasingly responsible positions with Rockwell in information technology, business management, business development and program management. He was manager of Technical Systems and Computing Services, director of Engineering Systems, division director of Information Management, program director for Space Shuttle Upgrades, and vice president and program director of the Space Shuttle program for Boeing. He also participated in the formation of United Space Alliance and then served as USA's chief information officer.

Presentation: Improving The Quality of Life Through Open Source Technology

Dr. Vijay Dhir, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, was named Dean of UCLA's Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science in March 2003 after serving as interim dean for the previous year.

Dr. Dhir joined the UCLA faculty in 1974, and for the past 30 years he has been a consultant for numerous leading organizations. Dr. Dhir served as vice chair of the UCLA Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from 1988 to 1991, and chair from 1994 to 2000. He has worked to make UCLA’s Engineering School a hub for interdisciplinary research. In the last two years, the School has won five competitive research centers from the federal government and private industry.

Dr. Dhir received his BS degree from Punjab Engineering College in Chandigarh, India, his MTech degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kentucky.

Presentation: Improving The Quality Of Life Through Technology - An Academic Perspective

Dr. Sam Pitroda is currently chairman of India's National Knowledge Commission. He is largely considered responsible for India's communications revolution. He is the Chairman and CEO of World-Tel Limited, an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) initiative.

He founded Wescom Switching which was acquired by Rockwell International, where Pitroda became a Vice President. He is also the founder and CEO of C-SAM, Inc, and serves as a director on the board of Jet Airways. He has served as an advisor to the UN. In 2004, Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh recruited him to head the National Knowledge Commission.

He has a Masters degree in Physics from Maharaja Sayajirao University in Vadodara and M.S in electrical engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

Internationally renowned as the Stress-Free Expert, Ratanjit S. Sondhe is a speaker, author, consultant, entrepreneur, international radio and television personality, and the founder and CEO of a 30-year material science company. He credits all of his worldly success and good fortune to realizing his place in the universe and unconditionally adding value to our society.

Ratanjit emigrated from India to the United States in 1968 complete his Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry. He soon became an entrepreneur and created POLY-CARB, Inc., structured on a modern-style leadership paradigm in which team members are directed by the company’s mission statement, operating principles, and personal values. Having achieved worldly business success, Ratanjit has an immense desire to give back to the society that has given him so much; he has embarked on a mission to share what he has learned in order to help others reconnect for success and true joy. More information is available at www.ratanjit.com.

Dr. John J. Tracy is Vice President of Engineering & Mission Assurance for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. John has functional management responsibility for the engineering processes, engineering tools, and the 33,000 person engineering team. John received a Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of California at Irvine and Masters and Bachelors degrees in Physics from California State University. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Royal Aeronautical Society.

John joined McDonnell Douglas in 1981 as a stress analyst at the Huntington Beach facility. Prior to his engineering career, he was a high school teacher in Los Angeles.