SOT 2017 Aug State of Technology

Update from Washington

U.S. Senator John Hoeven

Keynote Address

ND Governor Doug Burgum
Currently serving as the 33rd governor of North Dakota, Burgum brings a business leader’s approach to diversifying the economy, creating 21st century jobs and revitalizing our main streets. Driven by a strong belief in North Dakota’s people and a powerful dream, he lead Great Plains Software from a small startup into an award-winning tech firm. Burgum also founded Kilbourne Group, and co-founded Arthur Ventures.

Presentations

Betty Gronneberg, Founder and Executive Director - uCodeGirl
Smart is the New Green: Raising Computational Thinkers
The wave of technological advancements in the fourth industrial revolution is evolving at an exponential pace, disrupting almost every industry and transforming systems of production, management and governance. With the progression of machine learning, the Internet of things, robotics and quantum computing, the future is already here. How can we prepare the new generation (especially girls) to cope with the smarts of the machines?

Brian Kalk, Director of Energy Systems Development, Energy and Environmental Research Center
Hear an update on several of the key areas of research and development occurring at the EERC, including advancements in pipeline safety, carbon dioxide utilization, and how to maximize the “value added” component of the major energy sources in North Dakota.

Justin Walsh, Co-founder and CTO, CoSchedule
As the fastest-growing startup in North Dakota, CoSchedule is looking to help organize the world one marketing calendar at a time. While they are well on their way, with 8,000+ customers in over 100 countries, CoSchedule believes it's the great state of North Dakota that provides one of its biggest competitive advantages. After raising $2.2 million in investments, doubling revenue for the third consecutive year, and plans to triple headcount in 2017, we'll hear how CoSchedule's rapid growth is just the first chapter in its story of success.

James Froberg and Fataneh Karandish
NDSU Innovation Challenge Winners
Each year, the NDSU Innovation Challenge showcases NDSU students’ innovative ideas and entrepreneurial skills. Hear from the students that took this year's top prize and how their breakthrough technology is poised to be a game-changer in cancer detection. Their research consists of microchip able to detect the presence of pancreatic cancer cells in a single drop of blood. If successful, these small, easy-to-use, in-home devices could save thousands of lives.

Richard Leshovsky, Dakota Outwear Company
A veteran-owned small business providing military clothing, oil field apparel and accessories, this Minot, N.D.-based company was selected to represent North Dakota as part of the Trump administration's Made in America Week. An initiative to highlight products made in each of the 50 states, it applauds their effort and commitment to American made products.