Virtual Reality: Changing How We Engage In The World
2016 is being hailed as the year that Virtual Reality (VR) becomes reality. Entrepreneurs and technology providers – many based right here in Seattle - will launch the next generation of VR devices later this year. Meanwhile, the world is already experimenting with this amazing technology. It is changing everything: the way journalists tell stories, the way diplomats understand faraway conflicts, the way militaries train their soldiers. Is it a fad or something to be replaced by the next tech innovation to come along? Or will VR fundamentally change the way we engage in the world? Join us and find out.
Join us during the cocktail reception when we will have a number of Virtual Reality experts on hand to demonstrate current technologies and applications. Experience 360 degree photography and virtual tours, or try out the Samsung Gear VR, the HTC Vive, or the Oculus Rift DK2. There will also be Google Cardboard VR viewers available to those who have yet to try them out!
When
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
5:00 PM to 6:00 PM – Cocktail Reception & Virtual Reality Demos
6:00 PM to 7:30 PM – Panel Discussion
Where
Palace Ballroom – 2100 5th Avenue Seattle, WA 98121
Panelists
Bob Berry, CEO, EnvelopVR
A serial entrepreneur with a proven track record and skill set that spans game and real-time 3D engine design, software and business development, crowdfunding, virtual reality technology, and web and back-end services development, Bob has been a leader in the software industry for over two decades. Having founded and managed various gaming and game service companies including Uber Entertainment and PlayFab, Bob is now onto his 4th company with Envelop VR. Founded in 2014, Envelop VR is creating virtual reality software that enables enterprises and consumers to create, work and play in an immersive, 3D virtual environment.
Nirav Desai, Chief Technologist, Booz-Allen Hamilton
Nirav S. Desai is a Chief Technologist in Booz Allen Hamilton’s Seattle Office. He focuses on bridging the West Coast innovation communities with their enterprise and federal clients – helping governments implement innovation faster and helping startups benefit from government research. He has a particular interest in big data, unmanned systems, and virtual reality and serves as Product Manager for Booz Allen’s undersea Virtual Reality offering – helping security and industry clients virtually see under water for planning, training, and navigation purposes.
Major Marie Gutierrez, Simulations Exercise Planner, I Corps at Joint Base Lewis-McChord
As a Simulations Officer MAJ Gutierrez’ role is to use live, virtual, constructive, and gaming (LVCG) to create an Integrated Training Environment (ITE) in support of unit training and readiness. The LVCG-ITE saves the military money, time, wear and tear on equipment as well as being safer and allowing units to ‘replay’ an event to learn from mistakes and execute more effectively. MAJ Gutierrez has used her simulation knowledge to mobilize and train over 10,000 Soldiers deploying to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, the Horn of Africa and the Sinai. Since arriving at I Corps in 2015, she has planned, developed and executed LVCG-ITE in support of six exercises with partner nation militaries; the largest of which involved over 30,000 multi-national troops across three continents.
Lisa Castaneda, Founder and CEO, Foundry10
Lisa has a Masters degree in Education and is a co-founder and the CEO of foundry10, a not-for-profit educational research organization. Foundry10 is currently doing applied research on the impact of Virtual Reality in classrooms and educational environments. She is particularly interested in the implementation hurdles, content challenges, and possible ways VR can augment and enhance learning in an array of educational settings.
Moderator
Drew Atkins, Managing Editor, Crosscut
Drew Atkins is managing editor of Crosscut, and a frequent contributor. He has written extensively on Science and Technology, and his work has appeared in publications throughout the country, as well as Seattle Magazine, Seattle Weekly, Geekwire, InvestigateWest, Puget Sound Business Journal, and Seattle Business Magazine.
Demonstration Leaders
Paolo Tosolini, Founder, Tosolini Productions
Tosolini Productions is a Seattle based digital agency focused on business storytelling solutions through emerging technologies, including touch displays, VR and 3D Virtual Tours.
Don Alvarez, Founder, Accelerated Pictures
Accelerated Pictures helps VR storytellers plan, pitch, and create experiences that matter. Founder Don Alvarez turned a PhD in Physics and three trips to the South Pole into a career at Disney and Microsoft Game Studios, after which he teamed up with an award winning film director and cinematographer to build collaborative tools for the future of business, cultural, and entertainment storytelling.
Ricardo Parker, CEO & Founder, CHRONOS VR
CHRONOS VR develops high-end VR experiences and games. CHRONOS also has the first school in the world designed to train people on all that it takes to develop for Virtual Reality.
Nathan Boss, Ethan Busse, Elliot Busse, and Michael Lai, Interns, Foundry10
Foundry10 is the bridge between education and VR. They will be demoing interactive content, developed by high school students at the Highline Big Picture School, on the HTC Vive. They will also be demoing content created by education industry professionals on the Oculus Rift.
Recent articles to help get you up-to-speed on where VR is taking us:
Adweek.com: How the United Nations is Using Virtual Reality to Boost Global Diplomacy
Geekwire: How Seattle is Becoming a Worldwide Hub for Virtual Reality Technology Development
Devex: Does Development Need Virtual Reality?
NYTimes:Where Virtual Reality Takes Us
The Seattle Times: Virtual Reality Developers Look Beyond Fun and Games
This event is part of the Intersections in International Affairs series, hosted by the UW Master of Arts in Applied International Studies (MAAIS) in partnership with the World Affairs Council of Seattle, The Seattle Globalist, Crosscut, and Global Washington, and made possible with generous support from the Henry M. Jackson Foundation. These events are free and open to the public. They are designed to engage international affairs stakeholders in honest and provocative conversations about the work occurring at the intersections of government, business and philanthropy. And how we can do it better.
2016 is being hailed as the year that Virtual Reality (VR) becomes reality. Entrepreneurs and technology providers – many based right here in Seattle - will launch the next generation of VR devices later this year. Meanwhile, the world is already experimenting with this amazing technology. It is changing everything: the way journalists tell stories, the way diplomats understand faraway conflicts, the way militaries train their soldiers. Is it a fad or something to be replaced by the next tech innovation to come along? Or will VR fundamentally change the way we engage in the world? Join us and find out.
Join us during the cocktail reception when we will have a number of Virtual Reality experts on hand to demonstrate current technologies and applications. Experience 360 degree photography and virtual tours, or try out the Samsung Gear VR, the HTC Vive, or the Oculus Rift DK2. There will also be Google Cardboard VR viewers available to those who have yet to try them out!
When
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
5:00 PM to 6:00 PM – Cocktail Reception & Virtual Reality Demos
6:00 PM to 7:30 PM – Panel Discussion
Where
Palace Ballroom – 2100 5th Avenue Seattle, WA 98121
Panelists
Bob Berry, CEO, EnvelopVR
A serial entrepreneur with a proven track record and skill set that spans game and real-time 3D engine design, software and business development, crowdfunding, virtual reality technology, and web and back-end services development, Bob has been a leader in the software industry for over two decades. Having founded and managed various gaming and game service companies including Uber Entertainment and PlayFab, Bob is now onto his 4th company with Envelop VR. Founded in 2014, Envelop VR is creating virtual reality software that enables enterprises and consumers to create, work and play in an immersive, 3D virtual environment.
Nirav Desai, Chief Technologist, Booz-Allen Hamilton
Nirav S. Desai is a Chief Technologist in Booz Allen Hamilton’s Seattle Office. He focuses on bridging the West Coast innovation communities with their enterprise and federal clients – helping governments implement innovation faster and helping startups benefit from government research. He has a particular interest in big data, unmanned systems, and virtual reality and serves as Product Manager for Booz Allen’s undersea Virtual Reality offering – helping security and industry clients virtually see under water for planning, training, and navigation purposes.
Major Marie Gutierrez, Simulations Exercise Planner, I Corps at Joint Base Lewis-McChord
As a Simulations Officer MAJ Gutierrez’ role is to use live, virtual, constructive, and gaming (LVCG) to create an Integrated Training Environment (ITE) in support of unit training and readiness. The LVCG-ITE saves the military money, time, wear and tear on equipment as well as being safer and allowing units to ‘replay’ an event to learn from mistakes and execute more effectively. MAJ Gutierrez has used her simulation knowledge to mobilize and train over 10,000 Soldiers deploying to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, the Horn of Africa and the Sinai. Since arriving at I Corps in 2015, she has planned, developed and executed LVCG-ITE in support of six exercises with partner nation militaries; the largest of which involved over 30,000 multi-national troops across three continents.
Lisa Castaneda, Founder and CEO, Foundry10
Lisa has a Masters degree in Education and is a co-founder and the CEO of foundry10, a not-for-profit educational research organization. Foundry10 is currently doing applied research on the impact of Virtual Reality in classrooms and educational environments. She is particularly interested in the implementation hurdles, content challenges, and possible ways VR can augment and enhance learning in an array of educational settings.
Moderator
Drew Atkins, Managing Editor, Crosscut
Drew Atkins is managing editor of Crosscut, and a frequent contributor. He has written extensively on Science and Technology, and his work has appeared in publications throughout the country, as well as Seattle Magazine, Seattle Weekly, Geekwire, InvestigateWest, Puget Sound Business Journal, and Seattle Business Magazine.
Demonstration Leaders
Paolo Tosolini, Founder, Tosolini Productions
Tosolini Productions is a Seattle based digital agency focused on business storytelling solutions through emerging technologies, including touch displays, VR and 3D Virtual Tours.
Don Alvarez, Founder, Accelerated Pictures
Accelerated Pictures helps VR storytellers plan, pitch, and create experiences that matter. Founder Don Alvarez turned a PhD in Physics and three trips to the South Pole into a career at Disney and Microsoft Game Studios, after which he teamed up with an award winning film director and cinematographer to build collaborative tools for the future of business, cultural, and entertainment storytelling.
Ricardo Parker, CEO & Founder, CHRONOS VR
CHRONOS VR develops high-end VR experiences and games. CHRONOS also has the first school in the world designed to train people on all that it takes to develop for Virtual Reality.
Nathan Boss, Ethan Busse, Elliot Busse, and Michael Lai, Interns, Foundry10
Foundry10 is the bridge between education and VR. They will be demoing interactive content, developed by high school students at the Highline Big Picture School, on the HTC Vive. They will also be demoing content created by education industry professionals on the Oculus Rift.
Recent articles to help get you up-to-speed on where VR is taking us:
Adweek.com: How the United Nations is Using Virtual Reality to Boost Global Diplomacy
Geekwire: How Seattle is Becoming a Worldwide Hub for Virtual Reality Technology Development
Devex: Does Development Need Virtual Reality?
NYTimes:Where Virtual Reality Takes Us
The Seattle Times: Virtual Reality Developers Look Beyond Fun and Games
This event is part of the Intersections in International Affairs series, hosted by the UW Master of Arts in Applied International Studies (MAAIS) in partnership with the World Affairs Council of Seattle, The Seattle Globalist, Crosscut, and Global Washington, and made possible with generous support from the Henry M. Jackson Foundation. These events are free and open to the public. They are designed to engage international affairs stakeholders in honest and provocative conversations about the work occurring at the intersections of government, business and philanthropy. And how we can do it better.