Melissa Lapsa earned her M.B.A. from Western Illinois University and her B.A. from St. Mary’s University.

Ms. Lapsa is the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Program Manager for Solar Technologies. Ms. Lapsa also conducts market research and outreach activities both domestically and internationally in the Engineering Science and Technology Division. As former Technical Assistant to the Director of the Energy Division at ORNL, Ms. Lapsa completed analyses on a diverse array of energy technologies and on energy and environmental issues.

The Solar Technologies Program at ORNL is focused on conducting research, development, and deployment for the Department of Energy in collaboration with private industry, universities, utilities, and state and regional organizations. ORNL expertise includes photovoltaics, hybrid solar lighting, solar tracking devices, remote hardware, sensors and controls, optics, electronics, and buildings integration. Ms. Lapsa has established many cost-share partnerships with industry and utilities including Wal-Mart, Aurora Ballast, LSI Industries, Long Island Power Authority, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District.

From 1996-1998, Melissa Lapsa was on assignment from ORNL to the Netherlands Agency for Energy and the Environment (NOVEM). Ms. Lapsa gave presentations and promoted the International Energy Agency (IEA) Energy and Environmental Technologies Information Center (EETIC) programs in eight different countries while on assignment to NOVEM, including at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN FCCC) third Conference of Parties ( COP-3) Summit in Kyoto, Japan. Ms. Lapsa has co-authored many articles/reports including most recently: Lapsa, M.V., Ward, C.D., Beshears, D.L., Maxey, L.C, and Parks, J.E, Innovative Hybrid Solar Lighting Reduces Waste Heat And Improves Light Quality, American Solar Energy Society’s Solar 2006 conference proceedings, July 2006; and Lapsa, M.V., Ashdown, B.G., Palmer, J.A., Sherrod, M.M., Wendt, R.L, and Craddick, W.G, Market Assessment for a “Healthy Air” HVAC System in California (forthcoming).

Walter S. McManus, an expert on alternative drive powertrains and automotive forecasting , was recently appointed Director of OSAT. His business career includes nine years at General Motors where he developed models to forecast vehicle sales, created visual information tools to stimulate new product development and spent a year as a manufacturing supervisor in a component factory. He joined J.D. Power and Associates in 1999 as Executive Director, Forecasting and Analytics. While at J.D. Power he developed a variety of forecasting auto sales models in most markets worldwide and at GM, he conducted research on new automotive technologies and their impact on society and the environment, the market potential of hybrids and diesel-powered vehicles, and automotive product and brand portfolio strategies.

McManus earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Louisiana State University (LSU) in 1977. He was awarded his PhD in 1983 from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).He was awarded the Sidney Stern Fellow and a Foundation for Research in Economics and Education Fellow. His fields of specialization were econometrics, industrial organization, and labor economics

A member of the American Economic Association (AEA), the National Association of Business Economics (NABE), the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and the Society of Automotive Analysts (SAA), he is an economics research and analysis executive with a record of influential research and a history of leadership accomplishments. He is regularly invited to speak to industry, policy, and research organizations. He is widely cited as an authority on the automotive industry in the business and general media.

Mr. Ruhrberg holds a German engineering degree in environmental engineering from Technical University of Berlin, and a PhD in Mining Engineering from Aachen University of Technology.

After working for four years as a project engineer and scientific coordinator in various engineering offices and research institutes, he joined the International Copper Study Group (ICSG) in 2001.

The ICSG is an intergovernmental organization of the major copper producer and consumer countries. The Group compiles global copper statistics and addresses copper-relevant issues associated with market transparency, market access, and sustainable development.

Key responsibilities of Mr. Ruhrberg include environmental and regulatory issues, recycling and semis statistics, as well as issues related to recycling flows, semis production, demand, and end uses of copper.

Oded Shenkar holds degrees in East-Asian Studies and Sociology and a Ph.D from Columbia University. He is the Ford Motor Company Chair and Professor of Management and Human Resources at the Fisher College of Business, the Ohio State University. Professor Shenkar has studied China for over thirty years and is the author of numerous books and articles on Chinese business and management. His work has been cited in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, Business Week, and the Economist, among many others, as well as in the major Chinese outlets, such as the China Daily and Reference News. He is a frequent advisor to multinational corporations, governments, and international organizations on China related matters.

Harold T. Michels is vice president for technical and information services at the Copper Development Association, where he is responsible for management of market development and research programs including the antimicrobial initiative. Harold holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science from NewYork University and is a licensed Professional Engineer.

John serves as a Practice Leader the Residential Practice of FMI Corporation the largest management consulting and research firm focused solely on the construction industry ( www.fminet.com) . John is responsible for projects involving consulting to product manufacturers and residential builders and developers. He is also involved with commercial focused building product manufacturers and developers. With 25 plus years of industry experience, John is involved with strategy and process development and implementation, channel assessment, and customer and organizational development. John has recently completed an assignment in which he project managed from initiation through launch, a major tool manufacturers initiative to introduce best practices for project management to residential builders and professional trades. John began his career as a project manager working on large construction and environmental projects across the US. In this role, he worked with many large General Contractors. He is a member of the National Association of Home Builder’s National Council of the Housing Industry (NCHI). NCHI’s membership consists of the top 100 suppliers to the building industry.

John holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Geology from Boston College and Dartmouth, respectively and an MBA from Boston University.

Mr. Fleck has been active in the connector and electronic component industry for 51 years.

Mr. Fleck has been instrumental in research and preparation of business, market, product and technology advice to manufacturers, OEM customers, distributors and vendors. Mr. Fleck is also a key individual presenting industry seminars and workshops in cities around the globe and has written articles for various industry trade magazines during the last decade.

Research activity for the past two decades in areas such as Manufacturing audit / analysis / cost of over 600 sites in Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Europe & USA -- Stamp / form, molding, reel-to-reel plating, assembly, tool & die analysis for each region of the world -- Product line analysis of 2,050 design families -- Technological trends impacting the connector industry -- Pricing analyses -- Raw material audits -- Copper-based alloys -- Polymer resins -- Audits, analysis & evaluation of companies within the industry.

In preceding years, Ken Fleck has been in various engineering positions in the aircraft and electrical industry (transformers, high-voltage relays). This was followed by 22 years with ITT Cannon from 1960 to 1981 in the functions of manufacturing, marketing, engineering, finance and business planning, serving in positions including general manager, director, chief engineer and president's office.

Rob Farrington is a principal researcher who manages the Advanced Vehicle Systems (AVS) Group at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, where he has enjoyed working on cutting edge technology for the last 27 years. The researchers in the AVS Group model and test advanced components and vehicles, and solve thermal problems for energy storage systems, power electronics, and vehicle cabin cooling in light- and heavy-duty vehicles. Their current scope focuses on hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in HEVs, and fuel-cell vehicles. Rob earned his B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University and his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado. He is a licensed professional engineer.

Raphael Dorman and Helen Starbuck Professor of Political Science. Professor Berger works in comparative politics and in political economy.

Her publications include Peasants Against Politics; The French Political System; Dualism and Discontinuity in Industrial Societies (with Michael Piore); Organizing Interests in Western Europe (editor); National Diversity and Global Capitalism (with Ronald Dore); Made by Hong Kong (with Richard Lester) and Notre Première Mondialisation: Leçons d’un echec oublié (2003), which was awarded a Prix Européen du Livre d’ Economie. Global Taiwan (with Richard K. Lester), and How We Compete: What Companies Around the World Are Doing To Make It In the Global Economy. Based on a MIT Industrial Performance Center Study of 500 Companies. The book is also appearing in 2006 in Japanese, French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese.

She directs the MIT International Science and Technology Initiative Program, the MITFrance Program. Professor Berger is a Research Associate of the Center for European Studies at Harvard University and a member of the Advisory Committee of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Studies.

She served as Vice President of the American Political Science Association, as Chair of the Social Science Research Council Joint Committee on Western Europe and Chair of the Department of Political Science at MIT.

She has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The French government has awarded her the Palmes Academiques and as Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Merite..

Raphael Dorman and Helen Starbuck Professor of Political Science. Professor Berger works in comparative politics and in political economy.

Her publications include Peasants Against Politics; The French Political System; Dualism and Discontinuity in Industrial Societies (with Michael Piore); Organizing Interests in Western Europe (editor); National Diversity and Global Capitalism (with Ronald Dore); Made by Hong Kong (with Richard Lester) and Notre Première Mondialisation: Leçons d’un echec oublié (2003), which was awarded a Prix Européen du Livre d’ Economie. Global Taiwan (with Richard K. Lester), and How We Compete: What Companies Around the World Are Doing To Make It In the Global Economy. Based on a MIT Industrial Performance Center Study of 500 Companies. The book is also appearing in 2006 in Japanese, French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese.

She directs the MIT International Science and Technology Initiative Program, the MIT France Program. Professor Berger is a Research Associate of the Center for European Studies at Harvard University and a member of the Advisory Committee of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Studies.

She served as Vice President of the American Political Science Association, as Chair of the Social Science Research Council Joint Committee on Western Europe and Chair of the Department of Political Science at MIT.

She has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The French government has awarded her the Palmes Academiques and as Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Merite.

Sandra Pianalto is the president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

Ms. Pianalto’s tenure with the Bank spans more than 20 years. She joined the Bank in 1983 as an economist in the Research Department. She was appointed assistant vice president of public affairs in 1984, vice president and secretary to the board of directors in 1988, and first vice president and chief operating officer in 1993. She assumed her position as president in 2003.

Before joining the Bank, Ms. Pianalto was an economist at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and served on the staff of the Budget Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Ms. Pianalto is active in the Fourth District’s civic community, serving on the boards of directors of many community organizations, including The Cleveland Foundation, the Greater Cleveland Partnership, University Hospitals Health System, United Way Services of Cleveland, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education, the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland Foundation, and the Ohio Business Alliance for Higher Education and the Economy.

Ms. Pianalto earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Akron and a master’s degree in economics from The George Washington University. She is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and holds honorary doctor of humane letters degrees from the University of Akron, Baldwin-Wallace College, Kent State University and Ursuline College. Ms. Pianalto also received an honorary doctor of business administration degree from Cleveland State University.

Jon Barnes joined CRU in 1990, helping to establish and later manage CRU’s Wire & Cable research team. In February 2005, Jon took up his new role within the copper team, responsible for establishing new products, services and single client capability in the copper fabricated products businesses (copper wirerod and brass mill products). He is the principal author of CRU’s new Copper and Copper Alloy Mill Products 6 Monthly Market Service.

Andrew W. Savitz knows about sustainability from working as one of the lead partners in the Sustainability Business Services practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he helped firms both large and small increase their profitability and responsiveness to environmental and social issues. Savitz now runs Sustainable Business Strategies, an independent advisory firm based in Boston.