Based in New York City, Rockwell Group is an award-winning, cross-disciplinary architecture and design practice that specializes in hospitality, retail, performing arts, cultural, theater and film design. With a staff of over 160 people including architects, interior designers, writers, artisans and renderers, the firm specializes in “crafting experiences” for its audiences, characterized by rich materials, innovative narrative and a sense of theatrical delight.

Current and recent projects include an entertainment complex at the Meadowlands; a new home for the Film Society of Lincoln Center; Nobu restaurants worldwide; DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids; innovation work for Coca-Cola; a playgrounds initiative in development; Gap’s newest retail brand, Forth & Towne; set designs for the Broadway hit musicals Hairspray and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and a book, ""Spectacle"", being published by Phaidon Press in 2006.

Daniel Dubno is producer and technologist for CBS News in New York, where he coordinates Special Events Unit coverage of major national and international news stories, including elections, military conflicts and disasters. Dubno is a pioneer in the use of powerful graphic technologies, satellite imagery and visualization tools for news coverage. He also regularly appears on-air as Digital Dan on a variety of CBS News broadcasts discussing new technology. Winner of numerous National Emmy awards, Dubno was previously a producer of the Eye on America enterprise reports for the CBS Evening News, and he produced investigative and feature segments for Eye to Eye with Connie Chung, America Tonight and economics coverage for CBS This Morning.

J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., is one of leading scientists of the 21st century for his visionary contributions in genomic research. He is founder and president of the J. Craig Venter Institute and the J. Craig Venter Science Foundation. The Venter Institute conducts basic research that advances the science of genomics; specializes in high volume genome sequencing, and explores the ethical and policy implications of genomic discoveries and advances. The J. Craig Venter Science Foundation supports both the Venter Institute and The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR), an affiliated research organization led by Claire M. Fraser, Ph.D. Venter founded TIGR in 1992.

Clifford Ross’ work is represented in numerous public collections including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. His new photographs have been displayed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the George Eastman House. A recent book of photographs, “Wave Music”, was published by Aperture in March 2005, with texts by the philosopher Arthur Danto, and novelist A.M. Homes.

As an Oscar® winning director, co-founder, and VP of Creative Development at Blue Sky Studios, Chris Wedge is the driving force behind the company's rise to prominence as one of the most respected computer animation studios in the world. Wedge has directed Blue Sky’s first two computer-generated animated feature films; “Ice Age”, which was released in 2002 and was nominated for an Academy Award®, and “Robots”, which was released in 2005. ""Bunny,"" which Wedge wrote and directed, and which won an Academy Award® for Best Animated Short Film, showcases Wedge's strong filmic sensibility and set new cinematic standards for the CGI community.

Only someone with Chris Blackwell's unique background could have founded a company as innovative as Island Records. Although it took several years before Island made the charts, yet in time it became the finest small record company in the world, with an artist roster the envy of every major record company. Now, after nearly 40 years in the entertainment business, Blackwell has created Palm Pictures as an entertainment company with a particular focus on DVD, a format that perfectly incorporates his passion for music and film. Born just prior to World War II in London, Blackwell's father was Irish while his mother came from a prominent Jamaican family of successful traders in rum, sugar, coconuts and cattle. He spent the first 10 years of his life on the island, finished his education in England and returned to Jamaica in 1955. His first job was as aide-de-camp to the Governor of Jamaica, followed by a stint selling real estate. But it was the six months Blackwell spent in America in 1959, hanging out in the New York jazz circuit, which led him to a life in music.

Anderson took the helm of Wired in 2001 and has led the magazine to eleven National Magazine Award nominations since. He is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Long Tail and FREE: The Future of Radical Price, both of which are based on influential articles published in Wired.

Co-Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Applied Minds, Bran is a designer and technologist working in entertainment, product development, engineering, architecture and the sciences.

Prior to starting Applied Minds Inc., with partner Danny Hillis, he was President of Research & Development and Creative Technology for Walt Disney. His design career has included special visual effects, lighting and sound design for many Hollywood films, Broadway shows, Theme Park attractions and Rock & Roll tours. He has also been lead designer for multiple exhibitions, special purpose vehicles (one displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in NY), consumer products, and several major architectural and interior design projects.

Bran's clients have included General Motors, Herman Miller, IBM, Intel, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, The Walt Disney Company and Warner Communications.He has been very active in both film and theater, and received multiple awards by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (including an Oscar nomination), the New York Drama Desk, Los Angeles Critics Circle and Maharam Foundations. He is a recipient of the Wally Russell lifetime achievement award for lighting design, and the Kilby Award for significant contributions to society.

In addition to his current leadership role with Applied Minds, Bran is a senior advisory board member for science, advanced technology, and innovation management, to seven US Government agencies, and the US Senate. A popular guest lecturer, Bran has given over100 keynote presentations on a wide range of topics including design, technology, creativity & innovation, entertainment, and storytelling.

"1999 to Present: Noggin Television (MTV Networks) - spokesperson; consultant; on-air host. 1992 to 1998: Writer, producer and talent for the ""Bill Nye The Science Guy"" pilot, and for the subsequent series co-produced by Buena Vista Television (Disney) and KCTS (Seattle public television). Won Emmy Awards for Best Performer, Best Writing, and Producing. ""Bill Nye The Science Guy"" won Emmy for Best Show. 1986 to 1992: Originated ""Bill Nye the Science Guy"" on KJR Radio, Seattle. Writer and talent for ""Almost Live,"" a television comedy show produced by KING Television, Seattle. Won 13 local Emmy Awards for writing and performing. Host and writer of Emmy Award winning ""Fabulous Wetlands"" video produced in 1988 by the Washington State Department of Ecology. Books Published: ""Big Blast of Science"" ""Bill Nye's Consider the Following"" ""Bill Nye the Science Guy's Big Blue Ocean" 

Adam Clayton Powell III is Director of the Integrated Media Systems Center, the U.S. national Engineering Research Center for multimedia, at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. He is also a Senior Fellow at the USC Center on Public Diplomacy. Before joining the USC faculty, he was general manager of WHUT-TV, Howard University’s PBS public television station; general manager of KMTP-TV, a public television station in San Francisco; executive producer at Quincy Jones Entertainment; news director of ABC News' 24-hour cable television news service; network news manager and producer at CBS News in New York; and Vice President/Technology and Programs for the Freedom Forum, developing and supervising media conferences and training programs on Internet- and computer-based media and information technology in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. He has written extensively about technology, media and international issues for a wide range of publications including the New York Times, Wired and the Online Journalism Review.