New England's Leading Innovators to Speak at IDEAS Boston 2008 Conference

NPR/WBUR's Tom Ashbrook to Moderate
BOSTON--(Business Wire)--
IDEAS Boston is proud to announce the speakers for its 2008
conference to be held on Thursday, October 30th from 8:00 am to 7:00
pm at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. This day-long conference
celebrates the depth and breadth of innovation in this region. The
program consists of sixteen speaker presentations on topics ranging
from photojournalism to astrophysics, interspersed with artistic
breaks and time for networking. The presentations at this year's IDEAS
Boston conference promise to be among the most exciting and inspiring
yet. Moderated by award winning journalist and host of NPR/WBUR's
groundbreaking news-talk show "On Point", Tom Ashbrook, the full list
of speakers includes:

Susan C. Athey - Economic Theorist

Harvard Professor of Economics and the first woman to win the
prestigious American Economic Association's John Bates Clark medal,
awarded to the most accomplished American economist under age 40, for
her contributions to industrial organization, econometrics,
microeconomic theory and auctions.

Joseph Ayers - Biomimetic Roboticist

Professor of Biology and former Director of Northeastern
University's Marine Science Center best known for his RoboLobster,
whose recent research using technology to mimic biological organisms
and processes may someday help rehabilitate people with traumatic
brain injuries.

Robin Bowman - Photojournalist

A photojournalist devoted to documenting social and political
issues at home and abroad, whose 2007 book, "It's Complicated: The
American Teenager" chronicles her 5-year journey across America to
explore the shape of this generation and the country that formed them.

David A. Edwards - Art/Science Innovator

Founder of Le Laboratoire, an artscience center in Paris dedicated
to experimental collaboration between artists and scientists, author
and Harvard Professor of Biomedical Engineering interested in
developing new cultural and educational environments for innovation.

Noah Feldman - Constitutional Law Scholar

Harvard Law professor, author and lecturer who specializes in
constitutional studies with particular emphasis on the relationship
between law and religion, constitutional design and history of legal
theory, whose book, "The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State" was
published in April 2008.

Paul Goodnight - African Cultural Artist

A world renowned painter, known for his colorful realism that
captures the extraordinary in the lives of ordinary people around the
world, and whose recent commissions include a triathlon triptych for
the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Sheila Kennedy - Architect and Inventor

Principal of Kennedy & Violich Architecture, an inter-disciplinary
practice that explores relationships between architecture, technology
and emerging public needs. Kennedy creates design concepts and
building projects that accelerate the implementation of energy
harvesting nano-materials in architecture, textiles and building
materials.

Vikram Sheel Kumar - Healthcare Technology Entrepreneur

Co-Founder of Dimagi, a healthcare informatics consultancy, and a
pioneer in the field of community-based chronic disease management,
who focuses on creating technologies specially customized for the
conditions encountered in the developing world.

John E. Lester - Pathfinder Linden - Second Life Avatar

Boston Operations Director for Linden Lab, creator of the online
world Second Life, where he leads the company's efforts supporting use
of Second Life as a platform for education and academic research,
focusing on strategies for success.

John Maeda - Designer, Creative Innovator and Academic

President of the Rhode Island School of Design and a
world-renowned designer, visual artist, computer scientist and author
known for his philosophy of humanizing technology.

Dava J. Newman - 21ST Century Space Suit Designer

MIT Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering
Systems, whose BioSuit(TM) advanced spacesuit research was named by
"Time" Magazine as one of the Best Inventions of 2007 and was part of
the Metropolitan Museum of Art's 2008 "Superheroes" exhibit.

David W. Rattner - Trailblazing Surgeon

David Rattner believes an innovative natural orifice approach to
surgery is imminent. Chief of General and GI Surgery at MGH, Dr.
Rattner serves as co-chair of the national organization, NOSCAR, a
research consortium of world-renowned surgeons and endoscopists who
are working together on perfecting surgical approaches that will
hasten recovery and be less painful for the patient.

Sara Seager - Astrophysicist

MIT Associate Professor of Planetary Science, known for her
research of Earth-like extrasolar planets, and winner of the 2007
American Astronomical Society's Warner Prize for significant
contributions to observational or theoretical astronomy by an
astronomer under age 36.

Paul Y. Watanabe - Political Science/Race and Immigration
Specialist

Director of the UMass Boston Institute for Asian American Studies
and Professor of political, cultural, and socioeconomic implications
of the nation's growing diversity shaped largely by immigration.

Martin Wattenberg - New Media Artist- Information Visualization

An IBM mathematician whose work focuses on information
visualization and its application to collaborative computing,
journalism, bioinformatics and art.

Advance registration is required for attendance. Visit the event
website at www.ideasboston.com to register online and see additional
conference information.

IDEAS Boston is a non-profit organization, and its 2008 conference
is made possible, in large part, by partners and supporters including:
Presenting Sponsors: The Boston Foundation and an anonymous
foundation; Gold Sponsor: Boston World Partnerships; Silver Sponsors:
IBM and State Street Corporation; Supporting Sponsors: CIMIT, Greater
Boston Chamber of Commerce, Partners Healthcare, Plymouth Rock
Assurance and UMASS Boston; In-Kind Sponsors: Business Wire,
Conventures, Conversion Associates and McDermott Ventures; Fiscal
Agent: MassINC. Media Partners include The Boston Globe, WBUR and WCVB
TV5.

McDermott Ventures
Brooke Botello, 617-557-9190

Copyright Business Wire 2008