by Ian Khan | Oct 10, 2023 | Futurist Blog
Dr. Mirko Hornung: An authority in the field, Dr. Hornung is the Executive Director of the Institute of Aircraft Design at the Technical University of Munich. He extensively researches electric VTOL technologies and their application in urban mobility.
Dr. Anita Sengupta: A former NASA engineer, Dr. Sengupta is now the Senior Vice President of Systems Engineering at Airspace Experience Technologies (ASX). She’s involved in developing eVTOL solutions that aim to alleviate urban congestion.
Ehang Huang: The founder and CEO of EHang, a company renowned for its autonomous aerial vehicles (AAVs). Under Huang’s leadership, EHang is exploring sustainable urban air mobility solutions for both cargo and passengers.
Patrick Nathen: Co-founder and Head of Innovation Strategy at Lilium, Nathen’s firm focuses on creating an all-electric VTOL taxi. Lilium’s jet is lauded for its efficiency and reduced noise.
Tian Yu: Founder of Yuneec, a key player in the electric aviation market. Under Yu’s vision, the company has diversified its offerings, from electric aircraft to drones, further pushing the vertical mobility envelope.
JoeBen Bevirt: The founder of Joby Aviation, Bevirt is on a mission to save a billion people an hour a day with his VTOL electric air taxis. With significant funding and partnerships, Joby Aviation is becoming a notable name in the urban air mobility domain.
Eric Allison: Heading Uber Elevate, Uber’s aerial ride-hailing platform, Allison is driving the vision for shared urban air transportation. The initiative could revolutionize urban commuting.
Archer Adams & Brett Adcock: Co-founders of Archer, a company developing an all-electric VTOL aircraft. They aim to transform urban transport and reduce city congestion with their unique vertical mobility solutions.
Dr. Derek M. C. Stout: A known figure in the industry, Dr. Stout’s research at the Rotorcraft Systems Engineering and Simulation Center (RSESC) at the University of Alabama in Huntsville aids in the development of next-generation VTOL systems.
Danielle R. J. Fong: Co-founder and Chief Scientist at LightSail Energy, her work, although primarily in energy storage, has implications for the power sources needed for sustainable vertical mobility.
by Ian Khan | Oct 10, 2023 | Futurist Blog
Dr. Mark Post: Recognized for creating the world’s first lab-grown beef burger, Dr. Post’s work at Mosa Meat focuses on scaling up clean meat production. He is often regarded as a pioneer in the cultured meat industry.
Uma Valeti, MD: As the co-founder and CEO of Memphis Meats, Valeti leads one of the most prominent companies in the clean meat space. His vision emphasizes health, sustainability, and animal welfare.
Josh Tetrick: The CEO of JUST, Tetrick’s company isn’t just about egg replacements. They’re also researching clean meat, and under his leadership, they’ve showcased cultured chicken nuggets as a glimpse into the future of poultry.
Niya Gupta: Co-founder and CEO of Fork & Goode, Gupta’s firm specializes in producing cultured pork. Her commitment is to create delicious, sustainable meat without the drawbacks of industrial farming.
Didier Toubia: As the CEO of Aleph Farms, Toubia aims to offer steaks grown directly from non-GMO cells of a cow. Aleph Farms stands out with their focus on replicating the full muscle tissue, rather than just minced meat.
Lou Cooperhouse: Leading BlueNalu, Cooperhouse is a pivotal figure in the realm of cell-based seafood. His company focuses on producing seafood that helps combat overfishing and the ecological impacts of fish farming.
Benjamina Bollag: As the co-founder and CEO of Higher Steaks, Bollag is working on producing cultured pork meat, aiming to provide a sustainable and cruelty-free alternative to conventional pork products.
Mike Selden: Selden’s company, Finless Foods, is at the forefront of creating lab-grown fish meat. His endeavor addresses the looming crisis of overfishing while ensuring our favorite seafood remains on the menu.
Brian Spears: The CEO of New Age Meats, Spears emphasizes transparency and sustainability. His company works on pork sausages and aims to make clean meat that’s both tasty and environment-friendly.
Isha Datar: As the executive director of New Harvest, Datar supports and funds research in the field of cellular agriculture. She’s an advocate for science-driven solutions to food security and sustainability.
by Ian Khan | Oct 10, 2023 | Futurist Blog
Tim Berners-Lee: The inventor of the World Wide Web, Berners-Lee has been a vocal advocate for online privacy and decentralization. He’s the force behind Solid, a project that aims to decentralize personal data on the web.
Juan Benet: The founder of Protocol Labs, Benet has developed several projects like IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) and Filecoin that aim to decentralize web storage and content distribution.
Gavin Wood: Having previously been involved in the development of Ethereum, Wood’s current project, Polkadot, seeks to create a decentralized web platform where multiple blockchains can interoperate seamlessly.
Muneeb Ali: As the co-founder of Blockstack, Ali is aiming to build a user-friendly internet where users control their data, and apps run locally without remote servers.
Vitalik Buterin: The co-founder of Ethereum, Buterin’s vision of a decentralized web involves using Ethereum’s platform for creating decentralized applications (dApps), leading the shift from Web2 to Web3.
Jutta Steiner: As the CEO of Parity Technologies, Steiner focuses on building core blockchain infrastructure, including Parity Ethereum, an Ethereum client, and Substrate, a platform for creating custom blockchains.
Matthew Hodgson: A driving force behind the Matrix protocol, Hodgson envisions a decentralized messaging and data synchronization protocol for the web, which can be used for real-time communications.
Sam Williams: The CEO of Arweave, Williams is creating a decentralized storage platform that ensures data is permanent, low-cost, and tamper-proof, aiming to preserve humanity’s history.
Trent McConaghy: Through his venture Ocean Protocol, McConaghy is working on democratizing data, allowing anyone to share and monetize their information without intermediaries, thus contributing to a decentralized web.
Dani Grant: As part of the team at Union Square Ventures, Grant has focused on investments in Web3 technologies and frequently shares insightful analysis on the future and potential of the decentralized web.
by Ian Khan | Oct 10, 2023 | Futurist Blog
Janette Sadik-Khan: As the former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation, Sadik-Khan transformed New York’s streets by emphasizing pedestrian zones and bike lanes. She is a principal at Bloomberg Associates and an advocate for sustainable urban mobility.
Andreas Rohl: Formerly leading Copenhagen’s bicycle program, Rohl has been instrumental in making Copenhagen a bike-friendly city. His insights into urban planning and sustainable mobility have made him an influential figure in sustainable transport.
Gabe Klein: With experience as the Transportation Chief for both Chicago and Washington D.C., Klein has been pivotal in incorporating tech solutions like automated vehicles and ridesharing into urban transport strategies for sustainability.
Enrique Peñalosa: As the Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, Peñalosa introduced a network of bike paths, rapid transit systems, and pedestrianized streets. He’s globally recognized for his efforts in making cities more livable and sustainable.
Robin Chase: Co-founder of Zipcar, the world’s largest car-sharing service, Chase has transformed urban mobility by promoting car-sharing as an alternative to car ownership, significantly reducing urban emissions.
Brent Toderian: A city planner and urbanist, Toderian is the former Chief Planner for Vancouver, a city known for its sustainable transport initiatives. He’s a global consultant on advanced urbanism, city planning, and urban design.
Jeff Tumlin: The Director of Transportation for San Francisco, Tumlin focuses on creating an integrated, sustainable, and user-friendly transport network, prioritizing pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport users.
Ani Dasgupta: As the Global Director of the World Resources Institute’s Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, Dasgupta works on solutions that support sustainable city transport, aiming for efficiency and reduced environmental impact.
Claire Martin: As the Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility at Renault, Martin focuses on sustainable mobility solutions, incorporating electric vehicles and shared mobility concepts.
Alain Flausch: The former Secretary-General of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP), Flausch has been an advocate for public transport as a sustainable alternative to individual car use.
by Ian Khan | Oct 10, 2023 | Futurist Blog
Nick Szabo: Often considered the father of smart contracts, Szabo coined the term back in the 1990s, even before blockchain became a buzzword. He envisioned self-executing contracts and has since then contributed immensely to its conceptual evolution.
Vitalik Buterin: As the co-founder of Ethereum, the primary platform for smart contract development, Buterin’s contributions are foundational. His discussions, articles, and projects provide a deep understanding of the subject.
Gavin Wood: Another key Ethereum co-founder, Wood wrote the platform’s yellow paper, which provided the technical specification for its virtual machine, EVM, where smart contracts run. His current work with Polkadot also encompasses smart contract functionalities.
Sergey Nazarov: As the co-founder of Chainlink, Nazarov focuses on creating secure oracle networks to support more complex smart contracts that need external data inputs.
Joseph Lubin: A co-founder of Ethereum and the founder of ConsenSys, Lubin’s understanding of Ethereum-based smart contract development and his ventures make him a key player in the smart contract space.
Dr. Christian Cachin: A professor of Computer Science with a focus on blockchain, Cachin’s work often dives deep into the security aspects of blockchain and smart contracts, providing valuable insights on their robustness and reliability.
Andrew Miller: A prominent blockchain researcher, Miller’s work addresses the security and scalability of blockchain systems and their corresponding smart contracts, ensuring they are both tamper-proof and efficient.
Dr. Elaine Shi: A Cornell professor and co-founder of IC3 (Initiative for Cryptocurrencies and Contracts), Shi’s research on the security and scalability of blockchain and smart contracts is groundbreaking.
Tim Coulter: As the founder of Truffle Suite, a popular Ethereum development environment, Coulter’s tools have become synonymous with smart contract development, providing a platform for developers to build and manage their decentralized applications.
Mariano Conti: A developer at MakerDAO, Conti’s insights into decentralized finance (DeFi) and its implementation via smart contracts provide a view into one of the most active sectors utilizing smart contract technology.
