Speaker: Rep. G.K. Butterfield
Date Recorded: 15 March 2022
IEEE members and other technology professionals are invited to join us for an online discussion with U.S. Congressman G.K. Butterfield on 15 March at 9:30 AM EST about technology policy and improving American innovation. IEEE-USA will also present Rep. Butterfield with an award for his longtime championship of congressional investment in R&D.
About the Speaker
Congressman G. K. Butterfield is a life-long resident of eastern North Carolina.
In Congress, Butterfield represents the First Congressional District of North Carolina. He is a champion of affordable health care, education, investments in rural communities, veterans, renewable energies, and federal programs that support low-income and middle-class Americans.
Butterfield serves in the Democratic leadership as Senior Chief Deputy Whip and is a past Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (114th Congress). He sits on the influential Committee on Energy & Commerce where he serves as the Vice Chair of the Subcommittee on Health. In addition, he serves as a member of the Subcommittees of Communications and Technology and Energy. Since the 116th Congress, Congressman Butterfield sits on the Committee on House Administration, and as of the 117th Congress, he was appointed to serve as Chair of the Subcommittee on Elections.
Panelists
Dr. Jianchu (Jason) Yao
Dr. Jianchu (Jason) Yao is a Professor of Engineering and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of the College of Engineering and Technology at East Carolina University (ECU), Greenville, North Carolina. He received his Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Kansas State University in 2005, after which he joined ECU as a founding member of the faculty for the then newly launched Department of Engineering. His current research interests include novel applications of biosensors for non-hospital settings and laboratory/project-driven engineering learning. Dr. Yao is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and a long-term active IEEE volunteer. He has chaired many committees for the IEEE Educational Activities Board (EAB) and is currently the EAB liaison to the IEEE Publications, Services, and Products Board (PSPB). He is an energetic advocate for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career development, leading numerous initiatives for the IEEE Eastern North Carolina Section and North Carolina Society for Engineers.
Dr. Gloria See
Gloria See is an electrical engineer, entrepreneur, and policy advocate. She received her PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign developing photonic crystal devices. She has also worked in precision agriculture, semiconductors, defense, business development, and academia developing new sensors and hardware to address critical customer needs. As a past-Chair of IEEE-USA’s Entrepreneurship Policy committee and the 2021 Vice-Chair of Partnerships for IEEE Entrepreneurship, she works on policy and programs to improve opportunities and diversity in tech entrepreneurship, expand STEM research and education funding, and increase sustainability through technology and entrepreneurship. Most recently, she has been investigating carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration, including the use of algal biomass that can leverage biofuel technologies for lower cost solutions.
Faith Davis
Faith Davis leads Exelon’s Climate Change Investment Initiative (2c2i) where she invests in impactful early stage sustainability focused companies.
She is also the founder of DAF Technologies, a technology consulting firm, where she helps clients solve their biggest challenges through the use of emerging technology. I monitor emerging technologies and maintain strong relationships with start-ups, R&D organizations in established companies, academic institutions, incubators, etc. This allows us to provide companies with insight on how to create competitive advantage, lower costs, or a new product or service.
Prior to DAF Technologies, Faith was a technology associate at In-Q-Tel, a strategic venture capital firm where she focused on investments involving the mobile ecosystem. She owned the investment process from sourcing to deal close. She has extensive experience in technology development, strategy, and venture capital. Faith has worked at NASA, Lawrence Livermore National Lab, The MITRE Corporation, and as a prior art search consultant for Van Pelt, Yi, & James. She has developed deep expertise in the areas of wireless communications, networking, mobile applications, devices, and internet companies.
She has published several technical papers and has been a speaker at technical conferences, technology focus days, commencements, women’s conferences, and affinity group meetings. Davis earned a B.S., summa cum laude, from Howard University and a M.S. from Stanford University in Electrical Engineering and a MBA from University of Pennsylvania Wharton School.
Nikita Rule
Nikita Rule serves as the Chair of the IEEE-USA Entrepreneurship Policy and Innovation Committee. Nikita’s advocacy for increasing diversity and access to entrepreneurship is rooted in her experience being a startup founder in Chicago. She currently works as a software engineer at Clockwise in San Francisco. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, doing yoga, and exploring nature with her husband and dog.
