Vasil Hlinka has over 27 years of experience in the Information Technology industry. He has been involved with software development and systems architecture since 1989, either coding or held responsible for application development efforts ranging from small (but complex) engineering and CAD application to very large enterprise (i.e. case management) systems. Hlinka has been responsible for designing, specifying, purchasing, installing and integrating all levels of infrastructure to support a wide variety of organizations in both private and public sectors.

Mr. Hlinka has extensive experience in the application of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to solve difficult business problems. In particular, he has played a key role in the evolution of a $130MM IoT company as it moved to transform itself to meet the evolving IoT market. Hlinka drove the development of strategies and target solutions, focusing initially on the manufacturing and remote monitoring market segments.

Larry Larson is a business consultant and small business mentor with clients throughout the U.S. He has worked for over 25 years in both government and in the aerospace and defense sector holding executive positions with UTC Aerospace Systems, Goodrich Corp and Recon Optical. His experience includes government programs/acquisition, corporate strategic planning and advanced product development. He has had key roles in technology programs for the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security and the Intelligence Community, and has extensive experience in Congressional relations, business partnerships/M&A and technology application. Prior to working in industry, Captain Larson was a U.S. Navy test pilot who served in command positions both at sea and of an overseas Naval base, as well as staff assignments that include the Naval Air Test Center, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition (ASN-RDA), Chief of Naval Operations, NATO Southern Region headquarters in Italy (AFSOUTH), and at the Naval War College. He has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from The Ohio State University and holds graduate degrees in National Security and Aeronautical Flight Test.

Dr. Lei R. Cao, Professor of Nuclear Engineering Program at The Ohio State University, developed AwareAbility’s radioisotope micro-battery technology. With a distinguished career in nuclear science and engineering including sensor development, Dr. Cao has made important advances in radiation sensors based on wide band-gap semiconductors (GaN, SiC), as well as novel beta-voltaic, alpha-voltaic and nuclear analytical technologies. He believes that the miniature radioisotope micro-battery holds great potential to provide a long-term, maintenance-free power source for many small electronics and sensors. Dr. Cao is excited to put his innovative ideas to work, bringing nuclear-voltaic battery power from a laboratory curiosity to commercial reality.

Dr. Greg Downing is a physical scientist, expert witness, and consultant with wide-ranging research experience. His career is built upon over 25 years working in federal laboratories, and over a decade with private companies (start-ups to international), consulting, and academia. He has over 150 scientific publications and a dozen technical patents to his credit, in addition to advising Ph.D. and Master thesis students across the U.S. and Europe. Likewise, he lectures to technical audiences domestically and internationally including as a visiting expert for foreign governments in Europe, South American and Asia, and for the International Atomic Energy Agency. Greg specializes in integrating disparate scientific technologies to solve critical analytical challenges, often requiring the development of novel state-of-the-art methods and techniques.

Dr. Michael Lerche is a Program Manager and Research Scientist with an extensive background in experimental physics. He brings to AwareAbility over 15 years experience designing and evaluating x-ray and neutron based experiments in various fields including non-destructive testing and materials under extreme conditions. Dr. Lerche’s accomplishments include work based at national research facilities in the U.S., Germany, France, Japan and Sweden, and numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals. His broad expertise ranges from an established scientist working in diverse research fields with interdisciplinary teams, to that of an advisor and facilitator of research and development, all while maintaining a strong experimental component.

John Kinnamon is a technology business leader with a passion for creating differentiating, long-term customer value. During his 25+ years in the technology industry he has held key leadership roles helping global companies implement and adopt complex enterprise systems in a multitude of industries. As a digital business leader, his focus has always been on business outcomes and leveraging technology for top line growth. John’s core expertise is bringing together business, technology, and operations with deep expertise in solution/product development, IT strategy/innovation, program management, software development/integration, and technology operations.

John has been instrumental in the start-up and establishment of several businesses, including IoT solutions for connected/smart products, connected vehicle, and digital enablement platforms in the Automotive and Manufacturing sectors.

Steve Madsen is a software developer and architect with a passion for crafting elegant solutions to complex problems. After working as a senior developer and software engineering lead for several Silicon Valley startups, he moved back to Columbus, OH and co-founded Light Year Software, a boutique software consultancy specializing in mobile applications and cloud services. He is currently the Mobile Architect at a Fortune 500 retailer. Steve has extensive experience with a wide variety of software platforms and environments and is a noted conference speaker. He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Systems Analysis (Computer Science) from Miami University, Oxford, OH.

David Bergeron has over 25 years of management experience, including positions in Silicon Valley venture capital companies and Fortune 500 companies servicing the technology markets of semiconductors, photovoltaics, biotechnology, plastics and MEMS device manufacturing. Leadership experience has included key positions in IBM, Applied Materials, and Cymer, Inc. Venture capital management experience includes positions at Tallwood Venture Capital and supporting Applied Materials Ventures. Bergeron’s venture development positions required developing successful business plans and models for over 20 companies in various technology fields. Primary responsibilities in his executive management positions were, CEO & CTO startup positions at SVTC, GM of Etch Product business group while at Applied Materials, GM of the EUV source division at Cymer, and Product Development and Plant Operations Management while at IBM.

David has an extensive technical background in the semiconductor manufacturing process and in equipment development, including backend processing for multiple chip packages and biotech MEMS structures. He has a proven track record of bringing to market production system products that solve significant technology and manufacturing problems. While at IBM, Bergeron led a multinational team that developed and manufactured the semiconductor industries’ first 4MEG DRAM,16MEG DRAM and POWER PC Logic Chips. While at Applied Materials, Bergeron managed the ETCH product business group and grew this group to $800 million dollars and no. 1 in market share. While at SVTC, Bergeron led a team that assisted clients in the development and manufacturing of numerous MEMs, biotech and photovoltaic structures.

While working in Silicon Valley, David partnered with entrepreneurs developing business opportunities based on institutional emerging ideas. Specifically business plan development around a Stanford professor’s flash memory, MEMS based SEM form a UC Berkley concept, and an electron emersion plasma etch system for improved CMOS gate control (evolved from Cal Poly Team).

10/2019