THIS YEAR'S SPEAKERS
Meet the speakers for our 2020 event!
NIKLAS ELMQVIST
Information Science Professor at the University of Maryland
All of Niklas Elmqvist's career has basically been a pursuit of pixels. As a data visualization researcher, Niklas is obsessed
with the use of colored pixels (computer graphics) to represent data: all kinds of data, from stock markets and sales trends, to
social networks and spatial scan statistics. Recently, however, he has come across a population of users totally immune to his
efforts: blind people, who are entirely locked away from data visualization and unable to enjoy its benefits. Niklas is now trying
to fuse vision with the other senses -- primarily hearing and touch, but even smell -- in order to convey data. In particular, he is
interested in finding creative new ways for the blind to deal with even big data, which is becoming increasingly important when
navigating the modern world.
SARAH J. EWING
Choreographer, CityDance Ignite Artist, and Director of S. J. Ewing & Dancers
Sarah J. Ewing is an Australian born choreographer engaging the intersection of dance and technology to make performance and installation work for theatres as well as
site-specific locations. Sarah was commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to create an
installation for the Moonshot Studio for the REACH Opening Festival in fall 2019 and will choreograph her first main stage
opera in spring 2020. Ewing is the recipient of multiple Artist Fellowship and Project, Event and Festival Grants from the
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, a Local Dance Commissioning grant from the Kennedy Center and a Dance
Metro DC Dance Connect grant. Her company, S. J. EWING & DANCERS, has presented work throughout DC with the
support of Dance Place, CulturalDC and CityDance at venues including the Kennedy Center, Dupont Underground, Dance
Place, Atlas Performing Arts Center, Source Theater, Bread for the City, 2M, Flash Nightclub, and The Warehouse. S. J.
Ewing & Dancers have completed residencies at Cranbrook School and Lightbox in Detroit and were recently presented in
New Zealand’s premier alternative arts festival, The Arcade. The company has toured across the US and internationally.
LYNN FELLMAN
Artist, Designer, and Author about Genomic Science
Lynn Fellman is an independent artist and Senior Fulbright Scholar who writes and draws about the beauty and value of genomic science. The National Science Foundation, Cold Spring Harbor Lab, universities, and scientific organizations have supported her work.
Fusing digital tools and traditional media, she weaves illustrated narratives with explanations of scientific research. The outcome could be an art exhibit or animated video, an interactive or printed book.
Her current project, “We Want Our Genome Story,” is an eBook that takes you into the heart of the Genomics Revolution. It’s an illustrated, interactive eBook about a human named Artist on a journey to understand her Genome Story. If you’re curious, see sketches and excerpts from the eBook at www.LynnFellman.com.
JOHN THOMANN
Principal, Studio Director, and Technical Director at Gensler (Architecture)
An authority on codes, permitting and on-site coordination, John has spent his career solving technical problems and exceeding client expectations. He offers specialized experience in workplace and law firm interiors, but also draws on his core-and-shell architecture background. Always eager to share his knowledge, John has served as a Visiting Professor at Virginia Tech University and the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. He is also a member of the District of Columbia Building Industry Association (DCBIA) Sustainable Task Force, a member of the Circle of Life Society at the Smithsonian National Zoo and a board member of the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra (AYPO).
JUNE LEE
Chair of NIH Artificial Intelligence Interest Group and Working Group for Autonomous Therapeutics
Dr. June Lee has been serving as the Chair of the NIH Artificial
Intelligence Interest Group since 2003. She has been working at
NIH since 1989. Dr. Lee joined the NICHD in 1999 from the NEI.
She is a clinical pharmacologist and program director whose
responsibilities include writing RFA/RFP initiatives, advising grant
applicants, making funding recommendations, monitoring
awarded grants and contracts in pharmacology and therapeutics.
Dr. Lee currently serves on the National Emerging Technologies
Committee and is the chair of NIH Biomarker Interest Group.
