At the opening of Science in the Age of Experience 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts, Patrick Johnson, Dassault Systemes Vice President of Sciences and Corporate Research, declared “Science is what powers our experience and our future.”
The two-day conference has brought together more than 300 executives and thought leaders from companies, academia and governmental groups, as well as key members of Dassault Systèmes executive committee.
“This conference is about a new age of Science, a new age of experiencing and shaping science,” continued Patrick. ” We have this conviction that the virtual world is providing new unique and disruptive approaches to do science, shape science and to look at theories, as well as experiments, and invent new horizons with science as an incredible catalyst.”
To officially get the conference started, Patrick introduced CEO and Vice Chairman of Dassault Systèmes, Bernard Charlès. “Science is fundamentally shaping our way forward,” he related, “especially in sustainability.”
Next came the conference keynote speaker, Dr. Lisa Randall, Professor of theoretical physics working in particle physics and cosmology at Harvard, She has studied and taught at Harvard, Princeton, Berkeley and MIT.
After the keynote and a short break came Dr. Hugh Herr with the most inspirational talk of the day. Dubbed the leader of the bionic age, Dr. Herr is an American rock climber, engineer and biophysicist. He is a Professor at MIT where he heads the Biomechatronics research group and co-directs the MIT Center for Extreme Bionics.
His inventions mimic the functions of real limbs and bring hope to amputees and disabled people across the world. He himself had both legs amputated below the knees following frostbite when climbing.
Next, Patrick asked Claire Biot, Dassault Systems Life Sciences Industry Vice President to join him on stage and introduce the next keynote Dr. Ameet Nathwani, Executive Vice President Medical, Chief Medical and Digital Officer at Sanofi, a global leader in healthcare.
Bakul Patel, Director of Digital Health Division at the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took the stage next to explain what part regulatory frameworks can play in the digital health technology revolution.
Next, Claire moderated a customer panel discussion to discuss how patient experience and outcomes are being improved, as well as the lives of the healthcare professionals who care for them, with the development of breakthrough therapies and technologies. Panelists were Peter Bergethon, Vice President & Head of Digital and Quantitative Medicine at Biogen, a pioneering company in neuroscience with worldwide innovative therapies for people living with serious neurological and neurodegenerative diseases:
Erik Gathenlon, Co-founder & CEO CellLink, the world leader in designing and developing bioprinting technologies, that enable researchers to 3D print organs and tissues for applications that span industries, from pharmaceutical to cosmetic:
and Pierre-Yves Frouin, CEO Bioserenity, one of the leading global providers of smart remote diagnostic solutions and online telehealth services to help healthcare professionals and patients with solutions that focus on epilepsy, cardiology, urology and sleep disorders:
After the panel discussion, Patrick and Claire welcomed to the stage Mr. Glen de Vries, President and Co-founder of Medidata Solutions. Dassault Systemes has announced the intention to join forces with Medidata, pending approvals, which will strengthen Dassault Systemes’ presence in the critical clinical trials arena. Medidata is leading digital transformation of the life sciences industry for clinical development, commercial, and real-world data.
Wrapping up the Better Living segment, Dr. Anne Goupil of the Dassault Systemes’ brand BIOVIA described a case study where researchers used the collaborative and analytic capabilities of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to develop treatments.
The final segment of the day was about Science in Nature: Sustainable Planet. Dr. Jennifer Wilcox, Professor of Chemical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic University presented about how avoiding CO2 emissions is not enough – we need to remove the CO2 buildup already in place.
The next speaker was Marcel Wubbolts, Chief Technology Officer at Corbion, where he is responsible for their global science & Innovation portfolio.
The final panel of the day was moderated by Raoul Jacquand, CEO of Dassault Systèmes’ GEOVIA brand, with panelists Dr. Byron Pipes, who was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1987 and currently leads the Indiana Center of Excellence of the DOE Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation:
Bob McCarthy, a professional mining engineer with 30 years’ experience, is a senior consultant at SRK, a world leading international consulting practice to the earth and water resource industries:
and Raja Sengupta, the Principal Feature Leader and global technology specialist for Aerodynamics at Volvo Trucks North America, responsible for both product development and aerodynamic certification:
That was it for Day 1 of Science in the Age of Experience.
Watch for more tweets and posts tomorrow from Day 2.
As a professional writer in science and technology for over 30 years, I enjoy having a front row seat to the revolutions and innovations in how we live and work.