• Peter H. Diamandis, M.D., Founder & Chairman
• Robert K. Weiss, President
• Gregg E. Maryniak, Secretary
• Jeffrey L. Shames, Treasurer
• Eric C. Anderson, Trustee
• Amir Ansari, Trustee
• Anousheh Ansari, Trustee
• Jack Bader, Trustee
• Michael Boustridge, Trustee
• Gil Elbaz, Trustee
• Arianna Huffington, Trustee
• Dean Kamen, Trustee
• Ray Kurzweil, Trustee
• Erik R. Lindbergh, Trustee

• Diane Murphy, Trustee
• Elon Musk, Trustee
• Rod O'Connor, Trustee
• Larry Page, Trustee
• Adeo Ressi, Trustee
• Barry Silverstein, Trustee
• Rich Sugden, M.D., Trustee
• Ratan Tata, Trustee
• J. Barry Thompson, Trustee
• Tom Vander Ark, Trustee
• J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., Trustee
• Will Wright, Trustee
• Kevin N. Kalkhoven, Trustee Emeritus
• Richard Garriott, Trustee Emeritus
• Byron Lichtenberg, Trustee Emeritus

Peter H. Diamandis, M.D., Founder & Chairman

Diamandis is an international leader in the commercial space arena, having founded and run many of the leading entrepreneurial companies in this sector. Diamandis also serves as the CEO of Zero Gravity Corporation (http://www.gozerog.com/) a commercial space company developing private, FAA-certified parabolic flight utilize Boeing 727-200 aircraft. He is the Chairman & Co-Founder of the Rocket Racing League (http://www.rocketracingleague.com/). Diamandis is a co-founder and Director of Space Adventures (http://www.spaceadventures.com/), the company which brokered the launches of four private citizens to the International Space Station.

In 1987, Diamandis co-Founded the International Space University (ISU) (http://www.isunet.edu/) where he served as the University's first managing director. Today he serves as a Trustee of the $30M ISU that is based in Strasbourg, France. Prior to ISU, Diamandis served as Chairman of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) an organization he founded at MIT in 1980. SEDS is the world's largest student pro space organization.

Dr. Diamandis attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he received his undergraduate degree in molecular genetics and graduate degree in aerospace engineering. After MIT he attended Harvard Medical School where he received his M.D. In 2005 he was also awarded an honorary Doctorate from the International Space University.

He is the winner of the 2006 (inaugural) Heinlein Award, the 2006 Lindbergh Award, the 2006 Wired RAVE Award, the Konstantine Tsiolkovsky Award, twice the winner of the Aviation & Space Technology Laurel, and the 2003 World Technology Award for Space. In 8th grade, while living in New York, Dr. Diamandis won first place in the Estes rocket design contest.

Diamandis' mission is to open the space frontier for humanity. His personal motto is: "The best way to predict the future is to create it yourself!"

Robert K. Weiss, President

Weiss produced the international hit, THE BLUES BROTHERS directed by John Landis. Other work with Landis includes the feature film AMAZON WOMEN ON THE MOON and the television series WEIRD SCIENCE and SLIDERS (that Weiss co-created). He also produced the motion picture DRAGNET.

As president of Broadway Pictures at Paramount, Weiss joined forces with Saturday Night Live Executive Producer and creator Lorne Michaels. Weiss executive produced many films at Paramount including TOMMY BOY, A NIGHT AT THE ROXBURY, SUPERSTAR, and THE LADIES MAN. For Dimension films, Weiss produced the international hits SCARY MOVIE 3 & 4.

Weiss has served as a consultant and team partner to the Boeing Corporation in the development of a global consortium dedicated to the distribution of space related multimedia educational and entertainment programs, products and services.

Additionally, Weiss served as Executive Producer for the American Rocket Company producing multimedia connected with the development, testing and launch attempt of their pioneering hybrid rocket.

Weiss served on the Board of Directors of IS Robotics (now called iRobot in Cambridge, Massachusetts) from 1990 to 1994.

In 2000, he was Executive Vice President and Executive Producer for the Blastoff! Corporation in Pasadena, California; an entertainment company founded to conduct actual space missions underlying the production of high value media and marketing platforms.

Mr. Weiss has been the Vice Chairman and Executive Producer for the X PRIZE Foundation since 1996. In the fall of 2004, he produced the award-winning live telecast & webcast of the Ansari X PRIZE flights.

Gregg E. Maryniak, Secretary

In 1985 he originated the Lunar Prospector space probe which impacted the moon in July 1999. He was Senior Scientist for the Futron Corporation of Bethesda, Maryland and advised NASA, the Department of Transportation and commercial space and telecommunications companies.

He has been an instructor at the Adler Planetarium and the Field Museum of Natural History and has lectured throughout North America, Europe and Asia. The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics named him a Distinguished Lecturer in 1991 for his presentation, "The Harvest of Space."

Maryniak is a Professor of the International Space University. In 1996 he was awarded the Tsiolkovsky Medal for his work in the use of the resources of free space. He was awarded the 1998 Space Frontier Foundation's Vision to Reality Award for his role in creating the Lunar Prospector Mission.

Jeffrey L. Shames, Treasurer

He joined MFS in 1983 as an Industry Analyst and was named a Portfolio Manager in 1985, Chief Equity Officer in 1987, President and a member of the board in 1993 and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in 1998. In September 2002 he retired as CEO and retained the Chairman title until his retirement in February 2004.

He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1977 and Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management in 1983. In between college and graduate school he served as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Fiji and with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C.

He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Berklee College of Music, the X Prize Foundation, City Year, a national service organization, Co-Founder and Trustee of Hurricane Voices, a breast cancer foundation and a member of the Board of Directors of the Elan Corporation. He also serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the MIT Sloan School of Management and the MIT Leadership Center.

Eric C. Anderson, Trustee

Mr. Anderson's vision is to open the space frontier to private citizens, and to develop and utilize space resources for the benefit of people on Earth. He has been and remains an outspoken advocate of commercial space transportation, private space exploration, and space tourism. Through the development of myriad space experiences on Earth, via Space Adventures' commercial suborbital spaceflight program, and through the continued flight of commercial passengers such as Tito, and Shuttleworth to the ISS, Space Adventures has created a paradigm that makes space flight available to people all over the world. Previously, Mr. Anderson was the principal and co-founder of Starport.com which was sold to SPACE.com in June 2000. Mr. Anderson also worked as a business development lead for Analytical Graphics, the leading aerospace software firm; and has held various consulting and research positions with NASA, where he authored several technical papers and articles, on topics ranging from space tourism to launch vehicle analysis to business and economic evaluations of various space-related ventures. He is also a guest speaker and lecturer on various topics in the aviation and aerospace industry.

Mr. Anderson graduated magna cum laude from the University of Virginia, with a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering, and was selected by USA Today as one of the nation's Top 40 graduating seniors of 1996.

Amir Ansari, Trustee

Amir joined Sonus via its acquisition of Telecom Technologies, Inc., where he was co-founder and Chief Technology Officer. There Amir led efforts to design and deploy the INtelligentIP (INIP) Softswitch, the most robust and scalable product of its type. Telecom Technologies' client list consisted of Fortune 500 companies such as WorldCom, Qwest Communications, Hewlett-Packard, Sprint, and AT&T. Under Amir's stewardship as Chief Technology Officer, Telecom Technologies earned recognition as one of Inc. Magazine's 500 fastest-growing companies and Deloitte & Touche's Fast 500 technology companies.

Amir is a member of the X PRIZE Foundation's Vision Circle and its Board of Trustees. Together with his family, he was a title sponsor for the Ansari X PRIZE, a $10 million cash award for the first non-governmental organization to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks.

Amir is actively involved with several non-profit organizations that strive for social development. He has co-authored numerous technical papers and filed several U.S. patents in the areas of voice over IP and multimedia services. He earned a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from George Mason University.

Anousheh Ansari, Trustee

Anousheh Ansaribrings more than two decades as a successful serial entrepreneur to Prodea Systems, where she serves as chairman. Anousheh captured headlines around the world as the first female private space explorer. She earned a place in history as the fourth private explorer to visit space, and the first astronaut of Iranian descent.

An active proponent of world-changing technologies, Anousheh has dreamed of space exploration since childhood. Her family provided the title sponsorship for the Ansari X PRIZE, a $10 million cash award for the first non-governmental organization to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks. This feat was accomplished in 2004 by legendary aerospace designer Burt Rutan in 2004.

Prior to founding Prodea Systems, Anousheh served as co-founder, chief executive officer and chairman of the board for Telecom Technologies, Inc. After earning three key U.S. patents and growing the company to 250 employees with 100 percent sequential growth year over year since inception, the company successfully merged with Sonus Networks, Inc., a provider of IP-based voice infrastructure products.

A living example of the American dream, Anousheh emigrated to the United States as a teenager who did not speak English. She immersed herself in education, earning a bachelor's degree in electronics and computer engineering from George Mason University, followed by a master's degree in electrical engineering from George Washington University. She is currently working toward a master's degree in astronomy from Swinburne University.

Anousheh is a member of the X PRIZE Foundation's Vision Circle, as well as its Board of Trustees. She has received multiple honors, including the Working Woman's National Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, George Mason University's Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, George Washington University's Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, and the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Southwest Region. While under her leadership, Telecom Technologies earned recognition as one of Inc. Magazine's 500 fastest-growing companies and Deloitte & Touche's Fast 500 technology companies.

In addition to her business achievements, Anousheh actively pursues ways to enable social entrepreneurs to bring about radical change globally. She has served on the boards of directors for Make-a-Wish Foundation of North Texas and Collin County Children's Advocacy Center. She works with a number of other non-profit organizations, including the Ashoka Foundation in its support of social entrepreneurs.

Jack Bader, Trustee

Jack focused his career on niche areas that showcased his technical creativity. Beginning as a mainframe programmer it was only a few years before he joined his first startup and delved into the emerging world of CP/M microcomputers. Writing everything from system BIOS routines thru integrating B-tree routines with a BASIC he licensed, he created financial systems that powered his clients to significant growth.

In 1979, Jack began his entrepreneurial journey by founding his first IT consulting company, Delphic Systems. With no capital, he marketed his PC programming skills to emerging and established firms. Attention to quality, customer service, incredible staff productivity and a knack for identifying skilled talent brought even more business. He grew quickly.

In the early 80's, partnering with AT&T, he formed the first local IT consulting company focusing on the UNIX/C market, Programming & Systems Consultants. He helped create a national software products and consulting company that melded the AT&T brand with his entrepreneurial experience to penetrate accounts throughout the U.S. This company grew substantially and was sold in the mid 90's.

NetEffects was formed in 1995 with Jack as its Founder and President. Working with Fortune 500 firms throughout the United States and various foreign countries NetEffects provides a broad spectrum of niche consulting skills. NetEffects has grown to be one of the largest privately held IT consulting firms in the St. Louis region.

Jack is an active instrument rated private pilot and has been involved with the X PRIZE Foundation since 1998. In 2002 he served as Assistant Flight Director for Erik Lindbergh's 75th anniversary flight across the Atlantic. For the 2004 Ansari X PRIZE, he was the Director of Infrastructure, responsible for all Internet and Webcast technical areas. He gets immeasurable support from his wife Anne and his children Ben and Abby (a recent X PRIZE intern).

Michael Boustridge, Trustee

Michael has extensive global experience in the IT services sector, which ideally qualifies him to execute on BT’s vision of growth within the region.

Prior to this appointment, Boustridge was Vice President, Sales and Marketing, at EDS, where he was instrumental in achieving the company’s highest total contract value for new business signings in five years.

A native New Zealander, Boustridge joined EDS in 1996 from Hitachi Data Systems, and worked at IBM earlier in his career. He’s an avid rugby fan and enjoys motorcycle riding in his spare time.

Gil Elbaz, Trustee

Elyssa Elbaz is an Assistant United States Attorney in Los Angeles where she is a member of the Terrorism and Organized Crime division. Prior to working as a prosecutor, she worked for the law firm of O'Melveny and Myers and clerked for a federal judge. She has also worked as a journalist for a number of newspapers and wire services in Los Angeles. Elyssa has an BA degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Claremont McKenna College and a JD from the UCLA School of Law.

In May 2005, she launched The Huffington Post, a news and blog site that has quickly become one of the most widely-read, linked to, and frequently-cited media brands on the Internet.

In 2006, she was named to the Time 100, Time Magazine's list of the world’s 100 most influential people.

Originally from Greece, she moved to England when she was 16 and graduated from Cambridge University with an M.A. in economics. At 21, she became president of the famed debating society, the Cambridge Union.

Huffington has made guest appearances on numerous television shows, including “Charlie Rose,” “Oprah,” “Nightline,” “Real Time with Bill Maher,” “Inside Politics,” “Larry King Live,” “Hardball,” “Good Morning America,” the “Today” show, “Countdown” and “The O’Reilly Factor.”

She serves on several boards that promote community solutions to social problems, including A Place Called Home, which works with at-risk children in South Central Los Angeles. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Archer School for Girls.

Arianna Huffington lives in Los Angeles with her two teenage daughters.

Dean Kamen, Trustee

Among Mr. Kamen's proudest accomplishments is founding FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), an organization dedicated to motivating the next generation to understand, use, and enjoy science and technology.

Mr. Kamen was awarded the National Medal of Technology in 2000, the Lemelson-MIT PRIZE in 2002, and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in May 2005.

Ray Kurzweil, Trustee

As one of the leading inventors of our time, Ray was the principal developer of the first CCD flat-bed scanner, the first omni-font optical character recognition, the first print-to-speech reading machine for the blind, the first text-to-speech synthesizer, the first music synthesizer capable of recreating the grand piano and other orchestral instruments, and the first commercially marketed large-vocabulary speech recognition. Ray's web site Kurzweil AI.net has over one million readers.

Among Ray's many honors, he is the recipient of the $500,000 MIT-Lemelson Prize, the world's largest for innovation. In 1999, he received the National Medal of Technology, the nation's highest honor in technology, from President Clinton in a White House ceremony. And in 2002, he was inducted into the National Inventor's Hall of Fame, established by the US Patent Office.

He has received thirteen honorary Doctorates and honors from three U.S. presidents.

Ray has written five books, four of which have been national best sellers. The Age of Spiritual Machines has been translated into 9 languages and was the #1 best selling book on Amazon in science. Ray's latest book, The Singularity is Near, was a New York Times best seller, and has been the #1 book on Amazon in both science and philosophy.

Erik R. Lindbergh, Trustee

Armed with a degree in Aeronautical Science and an inherited sense of adventure, in 2002 Erik retraced his grandfather’s solo flight from New York to Paris in a small single engine aircraft. This epic personal journey documented by the History Channel, raised over one million dollars for three charities, garnered half a billion media impressions for the XPRIZE Foundation and prompted a call from the President of the United States for inspiring the country after the tragedy of September 11th.

His unique sculpture and furniture designs are documented on http://www.lindberghgallery.com/ and have been featured in People Magazine, Sculptural Pursuit, the History Channel, NASA, and a national advertising campaign for Amgen. Seven of his rocket ships were the first bronze sculptures ever to fly into space!

A wonderful storyteller, Erik is a professional speaker with diverse clients such as: The Mayo Clinic, Intel, Young Presidents Organization, Ace Hardware, The Arthritis Foundation, Microsoft, National Air and Space Museum, and The Explorers Club.

An advocate of efficiency, Mr. Lindbergh built and lives in a straw bale house in the Pacific Northwest.

Diane Murphy, Trustee

Ms. Murphy began her career at the Republican National Committee and subsequently worked for four years as a press assistant to U.S. Representative John Rhodes (R-AZ, House Minority Leader). In 1977, she joined Washington-area based Smith and Harroff Public Relations, where she managed political advertising and communications for 30 political campaigns, including those of Senator John McCain, Governor John Sununu, Senator Bill Cohen, and Representatives Olympia Snowe.

In 1987, she founded her own public relations firm, which has represented numerous corporate clients, including Military Times Publishing Company, IMAX Corporation, Lockheed Martin, BT Broadcast Services, Motorola, Northrop Grumman, Space Imaging, and the X PRIZE Foundation. She also helped to organize media operations at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, focusing on their 'Partnership for Peace' campaign.

She is a graduate of Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and currently serves on the boards of directors of the Washington Space Business Roundtable, Youth Service America, and the Dashew International Center for Students and Scholars at UCLA.

Elon Musk, Trustee

SpaceX is the third company founded by Mr. Musk. Prior to SpaceX, he co-founded PayPal, the world's leading electronic payment system, and served as the company's chairman and CEO. PayPal has over twenty million customers in 38 countries, processes several billion dollars per year and went public on the NASDAQ under PYPL in early 2002. Mr. Musk was the largest shareholder of PayPal until the company was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion in October 2002.

Before PayPal, Mr. Musk co-founded Zip2 Corporation in 1995, a leading provider of enterprise software and services to the media industry, with investments from The New York Times Company, Knight-Ridder, MDV, Softbank and the Hearst Corporation. He served as Chairman, CEO and Chief Technology Officer and in March 1999 sold Zip2 to Compaq for $307 million in an all cash transaction.

Mr. Musk's early experience extends across a spectrum of advanced technology industries, from high energy density ultra-capacitors at Pinnacle Research to software development at Rocket Science and Microsoft. He has a physics degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a business degree from Wharton and originally came out to California to pursue graduate studies in high energy density capacitor physics & materials science at Stanford.

Rod O'Connor, Trustee

In 2000, O'Connor was a senior aide to Vice President Al Gore and the COO for that year's Democratic Convention in Los Angeles. At the convention he managed all day-to-day operations and was the chief spokesperson, working directly with national and international media. He also worked with the private sector to design and implement innovative corporate sponsorships that generated over $10 million in resources for the convention. Following the convention, he managed the debate camp for the Gore/Lieberman campaign. O'Connor also served as chief of staff for the Democratic National Committee. In this position, he worked directly with the chairman to supervise all aspects of the organization and served as the chief liaison to the Office of the Vice President at the White House. Additionally, O'Connor traveled throughout the country speaking on behalf of the committee to senior elected officials, supporters and the media. O'Connor spent three years as a White House and Senate aide to Vice President Gore. During this time, he handled government affairs issues in the Senate and managed the Vice President's daily schedule and national political relationships at the White House. He also worked extensively with the diplomatic community organizing numerous international visits for both President Clinton and Vice President Gore to Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America.

In the private sector, Rod O'Connor worked as an account supervisor for Edelman Public Relations Worldwide where he designed and implemented a multi-state telecommunications reform effort for a major U.S. telecomm company, advised the leading national information services company during federal agency hearings, and mounted a national drug education campaign for a leading pharmaceutical firm.

Rod O'Connor holds a MPA from Harvard University and a BA from Hampden-Sydney College.

Larry Page, Trustee

The son of Michigan State University computer science professor Dr. Carl Victor Page, Page's love of computers began at age six. While following in his father's footsteps in academics, Page became an honors graduate from the University of Michigan, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in engineering, with a concentration on computer engineering. During his time in Ann Arbor, Page served as President of the University's Eta Kappa Nu Honor Society and built a programmable plotter and inkjet printer out of Legoš.

While in the Ph.D. program in computer science at Stanford University, Page met Sergey Brin and together they developed and ran Google, which began operating in 1998. Page went on leave from Stanford after earning his master's degree. He was granted an honorary MBA by Instituto de Empresa and was the first recipient of the University of Michigan Alumni Society Recent Engineering Graduate Award.

Page has been a speaker at such forums as the Technology, Entertainment and Design Conference, The Wall Street Journal Technology Summit, the World Economic Forum and the Commonwealth Club. He was named a World Economic Forum Global Leader for Tomorrow in 2002 as well as a "Young Innovator Who Will Create the Future" by MIT's Technology Review magazine. Page is a member of the National Advisory Committee (NAC) for the University of Michigan College of Engineering, has been recognized as Research and Development Magazine's Innovator of the Year and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2004.

Adeo Ressi, Trustee

His ten year career in technology includes building and selling over a half dozen companies, including the sale of Total New York to AOL that created AOL Digital Cities. Mr. Ressi attended Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Barry Silverstein, Trustee

In 1968 Barry Silverstein, along with Dennis J. McGillicuddy, and another partner, Steve McVoy, founded Coaxial Communications, a cable television company. Initially operating in small communities in the Southeastern United States, Coaxial expanded its operations to Columbus, Ohio, the suburbs of Cincinnati, Ohio, and St. Paul, Minnesota, as well as smaller systems in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Illinois.

During the 1980s and 90s, they were involved in a variety of businesses in addition to Coaxial. These included investment banking, real estate, magazine publication, and manufacturing. They have disposed of most of these investments, and in 1998 and 1999 sold their cable systems. Barry's investment activities have become largely passive.

Barry is presently on the board of a publicly-owned company, Franklin Street Properties (an apartment and office building REIT) and a member of the Compensation and Audit committees. He is also currently serving on the Board of The World Resident Holdings, LTD.

Trudy Silverstein attended New College in Sarasota, Florida. She is the wife and intellectual consort of Barry Silverstein, a home schooling mother, a nationally recognized non-commercial collage artist, and President of the William James Foundation.

Rich Sugden, M.D., Trustee

After his Naval service, Rich returned to Baylor to start their Family Practice Residency, as one of their first three residents. Following his residency, he moved "back home" to Jackson, Wyoming with his wife Sue and their two children, Glenn and Kathy. Rich has been in practice in Jackson since 1975.

Rich's other interests include owning Teton Aviation Center, a fixed base operation in Driggs, Idaho, starting Teton Data Systems in Jackson, which publishes a CD and internet collection of medical textbooks with search software, and the numerous outdoor activities available in the Jackson area. Several years ago he, his wife, and several friends flew a restored Grumman Albatross amphibian from Idaho to Perth, Australia where he spoke at an Australian medical meeting and back.

Rich's interest in the X-prize project stems from his motto "if you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space"! (no pun intended)

Ratan Tata, Trustee

J. Barry Thompson, Trustee

Previously, Mr. Thompson overhauled New York- and London-based systems for NatWest Global Financial Markets, designed trading systems for AIG Trading Group.

A self-taught technologist, Mr. Thompson has developed software for clients who include MCI Telecommunications, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and other government agencies.

Mr. Thompson is a 2001 graduate of the International Space University. He also studied physics and economics at The George Washington University, film direction at The New York Film Academy, and acting at The National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts.

Tom Vander Ark, Trustee

Vander Ark is serving as a Trustee and as an Education Adviser to the Foundation. He joined the Board after serving as President of the X PRIZE Foundation for a year and a half. Prior to taking over as president, he served as Executive Director of Education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation where he developed and implemented more than $3.5 billion in scholarship and grant programs to improve education throughout the United States. A prolific writer and speaker, Vander Ark has published more than 100 articles and given thousands of presentations on the subject of education. In December 2006, Newsweek readers voted Vander Ark the most influential baby boomer in education.

Prior to his role with the Gates Foundation, Vander Ark served as superintendent of one of Washington State's larger school districts which has been recognized for narrowing achievement gaps and reducing administrative costs. Vander Ark also has extensive experience in the private sector serving as a senior executive for a start-up retail chain that achieved $5 billion in revenue, as well as management and consulting experience in energy, telecommunications and business formation.

Beginning his career in energy, Vander Ark has an MBA in Energy Finance from the University of Denver and a BS in Mineral Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines.

J. Craig Venter, Ph.D.Trustee

In 1992, he founded The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR). There, he and his team decoded the genome of the first free-living organism, the bacterium Haemophilus influenzae, pioneering the new whole genome shotgun technique. In 1998, Venter became the first President of Celera Genomics to sequence the human genome using the whole genome shotgun technique, new mathematical algorithms, and new automated DNA sequencing machines. The completed sequence of the human genome was published in February 2001 in the journal, Science. In addition to the human genome, Venter and his team at Celera sequenced the fruit fly, mouse, and rat genomes.

In 2003, Venter launched a global expedition to obtain and study microbes from environments ranging from the world's oceans to urban centers. This mission, now in progress, is yielding insights into genes that make up the vast realm of microbial life. Research at the Venter Institute reflects Venter's interests in advancing the science of genomics and in applying genomic advances to some of the world's most vexing public health and environmental challenges. Major research foci include human genomic medicine, environmental and evolutionary genomics (which includes the Venter Institute Global Sampling Mission), biological energy production, synthetic biology, and the intersection between genomics and environmental and energy policy.

Emeritus Trustees

Kevin N. Kalkhoven, Trustee Emeritus

Mr. Kalkhoven is a regular keynote speaker at technology conferences and was noted in the May 2000 Worth magazine as one of America's Top 50 CEOs. Prior to joining Uniphase, Mr. Kalkhoven held executive positions at a variety of software companies. He served as President and CEO of Demax Software and as President and CEO of AIDA Corporation. Previously, he was Vice President of Marketing for the European division of Comshare Corporation and Group Vice President for the U.S. Company.

Mr. Kalkhoven retired from JDS Uniphase in May 2000 and co-founded the venture firm in August 2000. Mr. Kalkhoven currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Optium Corporation and is a board member of AMCC.

Richard Garriott, Trustee Emeritus

In 1983, the Garriotts'- including Richard and his brother, Robert -established Origin Systems™, Inc. The company, based in Austin, Texas, is recognized as one of the innovation leaders in the ever-changing world of entertainment software. In 1992, Origin merged with Electronic Arts™, a global leader in the entertainment software industry.

"Lord British™" is a trademark of Richard's, and the pseudonym under which Richard created the Ultima series. Lord British also appeared as a principal character in the storyline. The Ultima saga transpires in the realm of Britannia, and he was the benevolent ruler of this oft-beleaguered land. Spanning two decades, the Ultima series is one of the longest and most successful series in the history of entertainment software - selling millions of copies and winning innumerable awards throughout the world. In 1997, the Ultima series ventured into the realm of the Internet with the release of the technologically groundbreaking title, Ultima Online.

Richard "retired" from Origin/EA last April and formed Destination Games with his brother Robert. In May of 2001, Destination Games became part of NCsoft, a Korean company that is the world's leading publisher of online-subscription based games. Richard has one of the largest fan bases that follow his work closely and are eager to hear of his next game.

Mr. Garriott is the Vice Chairman of Space Adventures, Ltd., the leading space travel company.

Byron Lichtenberg, Trustee Emeritus

Byron received his Bachelor of Science degree from Brown University in aerospace engineering in 1969. Following a tour of duty in the Air Force, during which he flew 138 combat missions in Vietnam (earning 10 air medals and two Distinguished Flying Cross medals), Lichtenberg returned to graduate school at MIT. In 1975, he received his Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering; Lichtenberg earned his doctorate in biomedical engineering in 1979. During this time, he also continued flying in the Air National Guard completing a total of 23 years of flying as a fighter pilot in the F-4, F-100 and A-10. He has received numerous commendations including the Meritorious Service Medal.

Byron continues flying as a captain with a major airline. In the private sector, he co-founded Payload Systems, Inc., a spaceflight science and engineering support services company, best known for flying the first commercial experiments aboard the MIR space station.

Byron is a Co-Founder and Trustee of the X PRIZE Foundation; a founding faculty member of the International Space University; and a founding member of the Association of Space Explorers, an international group of astronauts and cosmonauts dedicated to the advancement of space exploration for all people.