Technology: Earth – A new webinar series, from Triple Ring Technologies. June 28, 2022 – Technologies for Coral Restoration & Preservation

Sheila Hemami has over 25 years of experience in research and development in the academic and private sectors, with an emphasis on identifying early-stage technologies to address unmet needs and accelerating technology transfer.  She currently heads East Coast operations and directs the environmental and sustainability portfolio at Triple Ring Technologies (Boston and Silicon Valley).  Prior to joining Triple Ring, Dr. Hemami was with the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, MA, where she directed internal research and development and created a new business unit dedicated to addressing unmet technical needs for underserved medical populations and for the environment. Dr. Hemami started her technical career at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, and was a professor of electrical engineering and academic leader for 22 years (Cornell University for 20 years; Northeastern University for 3 years).  She holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan and an MS and PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.

Miles McGonigle is Lead Engineer at SECORE International in Miami, FL where he has been for the past 2 years. SECORE’s mission is creating and sharing the tools and technologies to sustainably restore coral reefs worldwide. As Lead Engineer, he focuses on the upscaling of coral restoration by taking biological lessons learned from research and sourcing ways to implement them through design and manufacturing. Before joining SECORE, Miles worked for a large consulting engineering firm focusing on water and wastewater treatment for 7 years; 4 of those in Chile on site at the largest desalination plant in the Americas. After learning and growing as a professional in this industry, Miles looked to have a more direct impact on conservation and took his current position. Miles received a B.S. in Civil / Environmental Engineering from the University of Kansas.

Mary Hagedorn has been a Research Scientist at the Smithsonian Institution for the past 20 years. She has worked in aquatic ecosystems around the world from the Amazon to Africa, has taught many university-level classes, lectures frequently to lay audiences, maintains an active laboratory with graduate students and post docs, and is a successful researcher and active grant writer. Hagedorn’s innovative, interdisciplinary work uses basic science to address conservation challenges for threatened coral reefs. She is a leader in securing a future for marine biodiversity and her team is uniquely developing and applying this modern technology to conserve coral reefs. Hagedorn’s team has created a world-class genomic library & frozen repository that includes twelve coral species from two of the world’s major oceans. Hagedorn’s team is using innovative cryotechnology to push the boundaries of physics & biology to include additional types of banked tissues.

Peter Q. Miraglia is the Biomedical device lead in the biotechnology program office at Draper. Pete leads a portfolio of diagnostic and treatment technology development programs towards commercialization and clinical applications, including cell processing, bioelectronics, organ assist, and tissue repair. Previously, Peter lead programs in energy and environment, including measuring microplastic, direct air capture, and restoring coral reefs, all through strategic partnerships across philanthropic, non-profit, government, and commercial sectors. Pete is a distinguished member of the technical staff at Draper and has served in numerous leadership roles at Draper over the past 15 years. Prior to joining Draper, he spent 2 years as a post-doctoral researcher at the Center for Advanced Microgravity Materials Processing Center at Northeastern University. Pete has also taught undergraduate and graduate courses in nuclear engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and UMASS Lowell.