State of Technology

U.S. Senator John Hoeven

With an overview from our nation’s capitol and comments on the third wave of technology that is propelling North Dakota’s economy. John Hoeven was sworn in as North Dakota’s 22nd U.S. Senator in 2011, following 10 years of service as the state’s governor. Senator Hoeven’s priorities in the Senate include working to implement national policies similar to the ones driving North Dakota’s economic success. He is committed to creating a business climate that fosters job growth and robust economic activity. Equally important to the senator are measures to reduce the nation’s budget deficits and debt.  He believes a commonsense approach that fosters free enterprise and empowers people to innovate and invest will strengthen our national economy and create jobs for our country in a sustainable, ongoing way.

Seth Arndorfer, CEO, Dakota Carrier Network

As we move further and further in the direction of having unlimited mobility and ubiquitous wireless connections, we may not always think about the critical infrastructure that’s supporting this activity. This infrastructure is comprised of wires, more specifically, fiber optics. DCN and its owners have more than 40,000 miles of fiber optic cabling running through North Dakota’s soil, which enables many of the connections our state’s residents, businesses and government access today. With fiber optics recognized as the premium connectivity agent in the broadband industry, it's important consumers understand why in an ever-increasing wireless world we still need wires.  

James Brown, Vice President of Corporate Development, Aldevron

Aldevron manufactures biological materials, including plasmid DNA, RNA, proteins, enzymes and antibodies, for the biotechnology industry. These products are critical for the discovery and production of many treatments that are in development and on the market today, helping cure diseases and address some of the most severe unmet medical needs. We will present how Aldevron is “growing cures in North Dakota” with the expansion of its facilities, workforce and innovative products.

Dante Battocchi and Holly Anderson, Elinor Coatings

Elinor Coatings researches and develops safer, longer-lasting coatings to protect aluminum, magnesium and bronze against corrosion and degradation. They execute research contracts for a variety of customers in addition to commercializing products that they’ve developed in-house. Elinor was the first North Dakotan company to license non-agricultural technology from the NDSU Research Foundation and has successfully transferred three NDSU developed concepts to the market. Recent work focuses on advanced materials to combat zebra mussel infestation, research for the federal government and eliminating hexavalent chromium through the adoption of alternative coating technologies. Elinor is two-time winner of the SBA/SBIR National Innovation Award and winner of the sustainability award and national finalist in CleanTech Open National Accelerator. Elinor materials are part of the Materials ConneXion Library based in New York City, the premiere worldwide resource for product designers and engineers seeking the most innovative new materials from around the world.

Dr. Greg Wettstein, Chief Engineer, IDfusion

Hear a brief discussion of the work IDfusion is doing and the challenges it is facing as it emerges as an internationally recognized player in addressing the cyber-security threat facing our country and the world at large. With an estimated 7 billion devices now connected, and the number growing, the cyber-security challenges posed by these devices are unprecedented.  IDfusion focuses on addressing the economic barriers associated with bringing security to these devices where functionality and time to market, not security, are the primary motivating factors for vendors. The technical accomplishments of the IDfusion team demonstrate that while innovation knows no barriers, the challenge to realizing the fruits of innovation require overcoming both industry and geographical business prejudices.