Meet the 2013 Eisenhower fellows focused on technology

Dr. Salvatore Iaconesi, a TED Fellow and an “open source artist” based in Rome, Italy, said he first got excited about technology when he attended the since-closed St. Williams School in the Northeast.

He remembers “Sister Benjamin, who ran a rudimentary lab filled with Radio Shack Tandy computers,” saying that “we used to go there to learn how to do things.”

Iaconesi is one of 32 2013 Eisenhower fellows that finished their seven-week program this week. The Eisenhower Fellowships is a Center City-based organization that offers both both international and U.S. fellowships. DreamIt Ventures cofounder Steve Welch and Wilco Electronic Systems executive vice president Brigitte Daniel are previous Eisenhower fellows.

Below, learn more about the fellows who are focused on technology and the work they did during their fellowships. (Descriptions are from an Eisenhower Fellowships spokeswoman.)

International fellows (See the full list of international fellows here.)

Dr. Salvatore Iaconesi from Rome, ITALY

President, Art is Open Source

On his fellowship, Dr. Iaconesi will meet with key players in technology and research to explore mechanisms which can be used worldwide to promote artistic and social innovation.

Dr. Bruno Rondani from São Bernardo do Campo, BRAZIL
Chairman, Open Innovation Center, Brazil

He’s trying to connect industry, government and academic institutions in Brazil with similar organizations in the U.S. active in urban development, transportation, healthcare, disaster mitigation, and poverty eradication.

Wang Ruijun from Beijing, CHINA
Vice Director-General ? State Supervision Bureau, Ministry of Science and Technology

He will examine the role of the public, private, and academic sectors in advancing science and technology research; public policy frameworks for science and technology; and innovation and technology transfer programs.

Dr. Pilvi Torsti from Helsinki, FINLAND
Research Director ? University of Helsinki
Special Advisor to the Minister of Employment ? Government of Finland

She will meet with leading US thinkers, politicians, and institutions to discuss megatrends in areas such as sustainable growth, energy, digital technology and media, urban growth strategies of U.S. cities, U.S. political campaigns and movements, as well as the role of academics and scientists in the U.S. as part of political decision-making.

Dr. Yuhyun Park from Seoul, KOREA
CEO and Co-Founder ? infollutionZERO
Director ? President’s Office, Nanyang Technological University

Dr. Yuhyun Park is a social entrepreneur who co-founded InfollutionZERO, a project promoting digital citizenship for children, youth and parents. InfollutionZERO addresses the challenges of “infollution” (i.e. the harmful effects of digital “pollutants”) including cyberspace predators and bullies, abusive language, and technology addiction. She will meet with leaders in government, civil society, media and technology to discuss digital education programs for children.

Daniel Poohl from Stockholm, SWEDEN
Chairman and Editor-in-chief ? Expo Foundation

As Editor-in-Chief of Expo Magazine and President of the Expo Foundation, Daniel Poohl is committed to promoting democracy, tolerance, and freedom of speech in Sweden. In the U.S., he’ll explore how social media is used as a tool for organizing campaigns; meet with organizations working against intolerance; and understand how political campaigns are managed and organized.

USA Fellows (Find a full list of U.S. fellows here.)

Igor Jablokov from Charlotte, North Carolina
Entrepreneur in Residence, Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network

Igor Jablokov previously cofounded Yap, an institutionally funded venture that pioneered cloud-based speech recognition, and as Program Director of IBM’s multi-modality initiatives led a worldwide team that created the world’s first ever speech-enabled web browser. Mr. Jablokov serves on the boards of Queen City Forward, a non-profit focused on social entrepreneurship, and Veterans for Ventures, which helps veterans transition into high growth ventures. On his fellowship to Israel and Jordan, he will seek to understand their entrepreneurial ecosystems and how they are helping to increase the competitiveness of veterans in the job market.

Michael Schmedlen from Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Vice President, Worldwide Education for Hewlett-Packard

Has also worked with Lenovo, providing executive leadership for strategy, research, product development and marketing for an $8 billion commercial, education and healthcare technology business. Mr. Schmedlen founded the Education Research Initiative (ERI), a collaborative partnership whose mission is to connect students, teachers and researchers around the world to evaluate and quantify the use of technology to improve education. On his fellowship to the EU and Ireland, Mr. Schmedlen will seek to better understand the evolution of corporate social responsibility and how to increase its impact on creating shared value. In doing so, he will seek to maximize the positive societal and economic impact of corporate actors in global education and healthcare reform.