The second annual Utah Technology Innovation Summit will showcase new technologies from across the state of Utah on Monday, Apr. 1 at the Little America Hotel.
Throughout the conference, event attendees will hear about innovation trends in breakout sessions and learn more about early-stage science-based companies located throughout the state. As part of the Summit, a breakout session track on innovative tech in Utah will highlight technologies from Cache County to Washington County.
“Often, we think of science-based technology innovation taking place primarily along the Wasatch Front,” said Barbara Araneo, Ph.D., USTAR acting executive director. “However, as Summit attendees will learn, there are exciting innovative products under development throughout the state. From established companies like Myriad with a well-developed product pipeline to early stage companies like Base2 Genomics getting their pipeline strategies formulated, the ecosystem is vibrant in science-based technology.”
The innovative tech in Utah track will include two breakout sessions, the first titled, Identifying Economic Opportunities in Energy and Cleantech, and a second on Building Utah’s Future through Genomics.
Laura Nelson, Ph.D., executive director of the Utah Office of Energy Development, will host the panel on energy and cleantech, exploring emerging trends such as unconventional energy, renewables and infrastructure innovation.
Panelists include:
- Darwin Harrison, CEO of Cosmas, Inc., a company that manufactures oxides that reduce auto emissions, convert farm waste into clean diesel fuel and lower pollution;
- Ian Hoag, PE, senior engineer at Rocky Mountain Power, which runs a variety of innovative initiatives, including utilizing waste heat and carbon dioxide to support greenhouses to grow tomatoes year-round;
- Todd Stevens, partner at Renewable Tech Ventures, an investment firm that specializes in early-stage cleantech funding; and
- Andrew Hegewald, PE, business development manager at Dominion Energy, where he oversees sustainability initiatives such as Modular Liquefied Natural Gas and Power-to-Hydrogen projects.
The second innovative tech panel, Building Utah’s Future through Genomics, will explore the future benefits, limitations, and challenges of using genomics in precision medicine and patient care.
Sean V. Tavtigian, Ph.D., professor of Oncological Sciences University of Utah School of Medicine and co-leader of the Cancer Center Population Sciences Program at Huntsman Cancer Institute—University of Utah, will moderate the panel discussion.
Panelists include:
- Lincoln Nadauld, MD, Ph.D., Chief of Intermountain Precision Genomics, where he oversees the clinical implementation of genomic cancer medicine across its 23 hospitals and 180 physician clinics;
- Aaron Quinlan, Ph.D., co-founder of Base2 Genomics, an innovative, scalable cloud computing platform for comprehensive human genome analytics
- Robert Schlaberg, MD, MPH, IDbyDNA, a company that utilizes genomics and big data technologies to identify infectious diseases; and
- Jerry Lanchbury, Ph.D., chief science officer at Myriad Genetics, where he oversees the development of new genomic applications in women’s health, oncology, neurosciences, autoimmune and Myriad RBM, an immunoassay development and testing laboratory.
Additionally, the breakout session on rural economic development will feature panelists from Conductive Composites and Electric Power Systems, science-based technology companies with operations in Emery and Wasatch Counties, and Cache County, respectively.
Event attendees will also have the opportunity to visit exhibitor booths from some of Utah’s most exciting emerging technology startups.
Featured companies, all of which have received client services from the Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative (USTAR), include:
- Majelco Medical, a technology that allows for real-time surgical blood loss measurement;
- EDX Magnetics, a revolutionary new metal sorting technology startup;
- Nielson Scientific, an advanced micro/nano-fabrication technologies company;
- Dragon Shale, a company developing technology that converts and extracts petrochemicals from Kerogen in oil shale, producing petrochemicals with a low carbon footprint, low water use and low emissions; and
- Kodiak Instruments, a company developing a wireless, cloud-based system for monitoring oil production at well sites.
In all, early-stage or emerging, science-based companies from eight counties—Cache, Davis, Emery, Salt Lake, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch and Washington—will present at the Summit.
To learn more about the Utah Technology Innovation Summit, view the full agenda or register for the event, visit utahinnovationsummit.org. Registration includes breakfast, lunch, parking and all conference sessions and materials. Registration prices increase on Friday, March 29.
