Authors and Speakers
Ms. Samantha Adams
The Pennsylvania State University
Ms. Adams is a M.S. student in Industrial Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University. She received her B. A. degree in Media Studies with departmental honors from Vassar College in 2009. Her current thesis research focuses on entrepreneurship in North Africa, more specifically, her thesis title is: "Towards Supporting Entrepreneurial Stimulation in Engineering and Science in Morocco and Tunisia".
Dr. Samir Azizi
Manager at Nanocomposites & Bioconcepts
Dr. Azizi is manager at “Nanocomposites & Bioconcepts”, a company focusing on new innovative projects in chemistry, material science and bio-energy. After earning his PhD at the University Joseph Fourier Grenoble 1, he accepted a position as researcher at the Royal Institute of Technology KTH Stockholm Sweden. Dr. Azizi worked on polymer nanocomposites and published two patents and many scientific papers, notably one in Nature Nanotechnology. Convinced of the important role that innovative companies can play in Morocco, he returned to his home country to start an entrepreneurial experience. In addition to managing responsibilities, Dr. Azizi is currently developing a social network for the development of innovative small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for added-value creation in the south of Morocco.
Mr. Mohamed El Mouden
Cadi Ayyad University
Mr. El Mouden is an alumnus of the 2012 USTM program, participating in both the Marrakesh, Morocco workshop in March 2012 and the Monastir, Tunisia workshop in July 2012. Mr. El Mouden generously credits the USTM program for helping him to concretize his dreams to make an impact in the world around him through innovation and enterprise creation. He is currently a student at Cadi Ayyad University in the Industrial and Food Safety Engineering Program.
Prof. Youssef Hamidi
Ecole Nationale de l'Industrie Minérale
Prof. Hamidi is an Associate Professor of Engineering at the Ecole Nationale de l'Industrie Minérale in Rabat; he also holds an Adjunct Faculty position at the Ecole Mohammadia d’Ingénieurs. Prof. Hamidi graduated from the Ecole Mohammadia d’Ingénieurs with a BS/MS in Mechanical Engineering. He later earned his PhD in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma, USA. Before pursuing his PhD, Dr. Hamidi had a hands-on, solid and diversified industrial experience as a Design Engineer, a Quality Engineer, a Manufacturing Engineer, a Project manager and an Operations Manager in both private and public sectors. Dr. Hamidi is passionate about teaching various topics from traditional Mechanical Engineering topics such as Fluid Mechanics, Heat Transfer, Materials Science, and Solid Mechanics to more industrial engineering courses such as Quality Management, Supply Chain Management and Innovation Management. Dr. Hamidi received the highest recognition at the Moroccan level, with the first prize of the innovation and research prize, namely Le Grand Prix de l’Innovation et de la Recherche en Science et Technologie.
Prof. Hamid Kaddami
Cadi Ayyad University
Prof. Kaddami is a Professor in Macromolecular Materials and Composites at Cadi Ayyad University. He initiated a number of international scientific collaborations with research teams all over the world. He is also member of the Center for the Development of the Tensift Region (CDRT), which is an NGO focusing on regional sustainable development. Recently, Prof. Kaddami contributed to the initiation of the U.S. State Department-funded USTM programs on entrepreneurship and technology commercialization.
Prof. Abdellatif Laklida
Prof. Laklida is a teacher educator at a teacher training college in Marrakesh. He is also a teacher of business and professional communication at a management college. He has been an activist in several social, educational, and youth organizations. He has contributed in the organization of several events and has initiated several NGO training colloquia and conferences for the benefit of young Moroccan students.
Prof. Scarlett Miller
The Pennsylvania State University
Prof. Miller holds the James F. Wills career development professorship in the School of Engineering Design, Technology, and Professional Programs as well as the Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University. She also holds affiliate appointments in the College of Information Sciences and Technology and the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Her research focuses on developing an in-depth understanding of human physical and cognitive abilities in order to develop next generation products and technologies that support human capabilities. Her research to date has had three main thrusts: design cognition (understanding example usage in design), human-computer interaction (developing tools that support the design process), and ergonomic product design (e.g. laparoscopic surgical tool). More information about Scarlett and her research group The BRITE lab can be found at www.engr.psu.edu/britelab.
Prof. Zoubeida Ounaies
The Pennsylvania State University
Prof. Ounaies holds the Dorothy Quiggle career development professorship and is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests are in the area of nanotechnology, and composite processing and characterization with a focus on energy storage and energy harvesting applications. Her teaching portfolio spans Material Science, Mechanics, Engineering Design Methodology and Measurements and Statistics. She has been lead participant and co-participant in federal, state and industry funded research projects for over a decade. She is one of the lead researchers in an international institute on energy research and applications, with a geographic focus on North Africa, the Middle East and the Mediterranean; as a result, she has established strong interactions with engineers and scientists in Tunisia and Morocco specifically, and has traveled extensively to the region.
Dr. Joseph Phillips
Country Director of AMIDEAST
Mr. Joseph Phillips is the Country Director of AMIDEAST-Morocco. He has over eight years experience managing in an international environment.
Mr. Mimoun Saoudani
Mr. Saoudani is the first certified Thinking into Results facilitator in Morocco. Thinking Into Results is a program that bridges corporate development with sustained results and brings an innovative format to professional leadership and development. Mr. Saoudani is also the founder and CEO of Success Solutions s.a.r.l., through which he helps entrepreneurs and corporations to change their professional and personal paradigms to achieve success.
Prof. Richard Schuhmann
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)Prof. Richard Schuhmann is a Senior Lecturer in Civil & Environmental Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Early Career Professionals Program Manager in the Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership Program. Dr. Schuhmann was formerly the Walter L. Robb Director of Engineering Leadership Development at the Pennsylvania State University where he held faculty positions in Engineering Design, Science Technology and Society, and Civil & Environmental Engineering. Dr. Schuhmann has over three decades of applied entrepreneurial experience and taught engineering classes in entrepreneurship, enterprise development, and creativity-innovation-change at Penn State for over a decade including a joint class on engineering leadership-innovation with the L'École Mohammadia d'ingénieurs in Rabat since 2007. He was the recipient of the General Electric Learning Excellence Award for "Promoting learning across the traditional college boundaries" and the W. LaMarr Kopp International Achievement Award for "Extraordinary contributions to the advancement of the international mission of the University." Dr. Schuhmann has been an invited speaker on the topics of entrepreneurship and innovation with audiences from Malaysia to the Czech Republic - but North Africa still remains his favorite destination.