Jeff Ray
Chief Executive Officer, SolidWorks Corporation
Jeff Ray brings more than 25 years of experience in global technology sales, management, and operations to developing the sales, distribution, and marketing infrastructure of SolidWorks software.

Previously, Ray served as vice president of worldwide field operations at business software vendor Progress Software Corporation, as well as vice president of global solutions at enterprise IT software provider Compuware Corporation. He began his career at IBM, where he held numerous management positions over a 17-year period. Ray earned a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from Texas A&M University .

Dr. Don Norman: Emotional Design

Dr. Norman has written and coauthored 14 books, including his classic: The Design of Everyday Things, and his latest book, Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things. “In the everyday world, we want to get on with the important things in life, not spend our time in deep thought attempting to open a can of food or dial a telephone number.” Cofounder of the Nielsen Norman Group, an executive consulting firm that helps companies produce human-centered products and services, Dr. Norman is a professor at Northwestern University; a professor emeritus at the University of California, San Diego; and the co-director of Northwestern University’s Segal Design Institute. He is a fellow of many organizations, including the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is a member of the Industrial Designers Society of America.

In 2006, Dr. Norman joined the ranks of Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, and Thomas Edison by receiving the Benjamin Franklin Medal from the prestigious Franklin Institute, and a “Lifetime Achievement Award” from SIGCHI. Dr. Norman is an ideal model for this year’s theme of “Inspired to Design.”

Dr. Bob Ballard

Founder and President, Institute For Exploration of the Sea Research Foundation in Mystic;

Director, Center for Marine Exploration at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute

Director of the Center for Marine Exploration at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Dr. Ballard is a marine explorer, engineer and geologist, who is most noted for the discovery of the legendary HMS Titanic, countless expeditions to uncover the ocean’s secrets, and designing the popular submersible camera “ANGUS.” Dr. Ballard perfected the technology used to locate the World War II German battleship, Bismarck, and the World War I passenger liner, Lusitania. He has also co-engineered “Jason” – a remotely operated vehicle that fits through small openings to see into a ship’s interior. We welcome you to explore the technology and secrets of the world’s oceans with Dr. Ballard.