• Arnauld Dumont
• Vincent Gaud
• Bruno Ghyselen
• Nicolas Gibaud
• David Holden
• Ingrid Lisador
• Bruno Moguin
• Gaston Nicolessi
• Véronique Péquignat
• Dr. Philippe Spinelli, Ph.D.
• Dr. Rachid Yazami

Arnauld Dumont
Business Development Manager, FOGALE

Arnauld Dumont is a dimensional metrology specialist and surveyor engineer.
Prior to joining FOGALE, he managed and developed a business in the field of optical 3d metrology, including projects with FOGALE, based upon the combination of multiple technologies. He developed the business worldwide; in Europe, USA and Asia, and joined the FOGALE company last year with the goal of creating and developing a FOGALE subsidiary in the USA.

Since FOGALE has already started business in the USA, he will focus on the development of existing business while introducing the strong experience and patented know-how of FOGALE into the US market.

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Vincent Gaud
Chief Executive Officer, Polyrise SAS.

Mr. Vincent Gaud is the co-founder of Polyrise SAS, an innovative French company involved in the design and production of nanomaterials. He started the company in 2006 and has worked on the technology supported by Polyrise since 2004 with his associate, Mr. Fabien Rougé.

Mr. Gaud was honored by the French Ministry of Research in 2005 and 2006 for the 7th and 8th editions of National Awards of Innovative Technology Company Creation.
From its beginning, Polyrise has close collaboration with the Institute of Molecular Science of Bordeaux (University of Bordeaux I) and the Laboratory of Organic Polymer Chemistry (University Bordeaux I) which allows the company to have access to world-class facilities and expertise.

Prior to Polyrise, Mr. Vincent Gaud was in charge of R&D of dental composites and industrial partnership promotion at Acteon Group, a world leader in small equipment and consumables for dentists, where he developed cutting edge technology. For its contribution to the development of innovative dental adhesives, he received the award from the French Group for the Studies and Applications of Polymers (GFP) and from the French National Agency of Research Valorization (Oséo) in 2005.

Prior to Acteon, he was research scientist at Spectra Group Limited, Inc., a leading company in UV/EB cure and photopolymers in Maumee, Ohio.

Mr. Vincent Gaud received a PhD in Polymer Science from the University of Bordeaux I in 2003 and a MS from the Graduate School of Chemistry and Physics of Bordeaux in 2000.

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Bruno Ghyselen
Advanced Programs Coordinator, Soitec

Bruno Ghlyselen holds a PhD in Materials science obtained in December 1992 from University Paris 7. During his thesis, he focused on the realization and characterization of Josephson junctions. This work was realized within THOMSON-CSF/ Laboratoire Central de Recherches/ Orsay France (now within THALES).

He pursued this collaborative work by joining as a research associate the University of Cambridge (UK/ Materials Science Department).

He joined SOITEC mid 1995, just before SOITEC revealed its new Smart Cut technology dedicated to the manufacturing of a new generation of SOI substrates. Within SOITEC, he has been in charge of different R&D programs and collaborations with different partners (silicon wafer suppliers, SOITEC customers, equipment suppliers, Universities, R&D public organizations  ...). Most of these programs were dedicated to the development of advanced SOI substrates for specific applications and other advanced composite substrates.

Among other projects he has been involved in the development of ultra-thin or at the other extreme ultra-thick SOI substrates, high resistivity SOI for CMOS RF, high mobility SOI (strained silicon, multiple crystalline orientations, GeOI ...), SiC/GaN on Insulator, double SOI, etc. Many of these collaborative projects have been realized in National or European frameworks (EUREKA, MEDEA, PCRD...).

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Nicolas Gibaud
OSEO representative in the USA

Nicolas Gibaud is currently the USA’s representative of OSEO, the French Agency for Innovation. In France, the OSEO group provides assistance and financial support to Small Businesses and facilitates their access to banks and equity capital investors, especially during high-risk phases: start up, innovation, development and buy out. In the USA, OSEO supports innovative projects based on technology with real market prospects in collaboration with local partners.

Mr. Gibaud facilitates and supports French-American partnerships in R&D involving Small Businesses. He also contributes to the search of investors.

Prior to joining OSEO, Mr. Gibaud was a junior project manager in a licensing executive society in Paris, which is involved in the commercialization of innovations developed by laboratories of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS).

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David Holden
Manager of Commercialization and Technology Transfer, CEA/Minatec

David Holden is currently Manager of commercialization and technology transfer at CEA, including the activities of Leti and Minatec. Mr. Holden focuses on developing contractual relationships with private enterprise in the areas of microsystems (Mems), renewable energies, security and enabling technologies.

Prior to joining CEA in 2003, Mr. Holden provided technical advisory services to commercial microsystems providers in the United States on technologies for inertial sensors, biochips and inkjet print heads.  From 1999 to 2001, he was responsible for polymer micro fluidics development for inkjet products at Xerox Research, with several successful technology platforms transferred to commercial production. From 1993 to 1999, Mr. Holden was involved with various start-up companies in flat panel display technologies, including Pixtech, AVT and ADT, a Robert Bosch GmbH development stage subsidiary based in Stuttgart. Mr. Holden began his professional career in 1986 as a process engineer at General Electric corporate R&D where he developed TFT LCD technology that he later transferred to Thomson in France.
 
Mr. Holden received his MBA from INSEAD in 1993 and a BS in Materials Science and Engineering from Cornell University in 1986.

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Ingrid Lisador
Export and Sales, Nanolane

Ingrid is currently in charge of Export and Sales at Nanolane. She has recently joined the company after working in international trade in Euroe (Germany and France).

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Bruno Mougin
R&D Engineer, Sofileta

Bruno Mougin is an engineer in polymeric materials and nano composites holds M.S. degree in Chemistry Engineering from Clermont Ferrand University and received a PhD in polymeric science from Claude Bernard University of Lyon.

After working for four years within a leading chemistry company (Rhodia), he has joined the METIS consortium to manage projects based on nanotechnologies applied within textile and paper industries.  

METIS is a R&D consortium specialized in innovating concepts, processes and applications within traditional industries.

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Gaston Nicolessi
CEO, Nanotimes

Gaston Nicolessi holds a Master's degree in Economics from the University of Toulouse, France. He also holds a B.A in English Literature and studied Japanese for three years at the University of Toulouse-Le-Mirail.

Gaston first started his career as an economist in the banking and finance industry where he developed major skills for handling macro business issues.
His career shift to Nanotechnology occured in 2002, when his high-school friend Dr. Michael Magoga asked him to co-found Nanotimes, a start-up company specialized in nanosimulation software. Gaston is now in charge of Nanotimes business development and marketing, as the company's CEO.

Last, in 2005, Gaston joined the board of the "Agence Nationale pour la Recherche" (ANR) nanotechnology branch (R3N), a major French funding government organization for nanotechnology R&D.

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Véronique Péquignat
Manager, International Business Investment
AEPI, Grenoble-Isère,France, Economic Development Agency

Véronique Pequignat is head of the international business investment department at AEPI, more specifically in charge of the micro & nanotechnology sector and the American market. She has assisted Sun Microsystems, Mykrolis, Novellus, SOITEC, among others.
 
Her mission is to foster and support R&D local partnerships and the creation of French subsidiaries and to promote the technological, research and industrial assets of the Grenoble Isère region in southeastern France, home to numerous major players of the IT, semiconductor and nanotechnology sector such as STMicroelectronics, SOITEC, Sun Microsystems, HP, etc.).
 
Ms. Pequignat worked for 12 years in the field of communication and strategic information for local authorities and economic development, and then was Project Manager for international investment, in charge of the Northern European market and IT sector at AEPI, from 1997 to 2005.
 
Véronique graduated in 1983 with a degree in Political Science from the Institute for Political Science of Grenoble, and in 1984 with a Master degree in information and communication techniques at Science Po Paris.

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Dr. Rachid Yazami
President, Lifco
Visiting Associate, California Institute of Technology, and Research Director at CNRS (Grenoble, France)

President of Lifco, a primary and rechargeable lithium and fluoride battery start-up company in Pasadena, California, Dr. Yazami is a also a visiting associate in materials science and in chemistry at Caltech (Pasadena) in collaboration with JPL/NASA.

Dr. Yazami, is a graduate of INP Grenoble (engineering degree in electrochemistry) where he also received his Ph.D. in graphite intercalation compounds for lithium batteries, and began his career and rose to research director at CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) in Grenoble, France.

He is the inventor involved in more than 20 patents related to lithium batteries, including nano-Si and nano-Ge based anodes for ultra-high rate charge lithium batteries, the lithium-carbon fluoride battery for space (2 NASA awards in 2006) and medical applications, and the graphite anode for lithium-ion battery.

Dr. Yazami has served as PI on sponsored battery research and/or collaborations with companies such as Sony, Mitsubishi Chemicals, ENAX, SAFT, Matra Communication, France Telecom, AtoFina (Total), France, Superior Graphite, MER Co., ONA Group and Quallion.

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