Falling Walls Lab 2023

Norbert Holtkamp is a Professor of Particle and Particle Astrophysics and Photon Science at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford University which he joined in 2010. He was SLAC’s Deputy Laboratory Director since September 2014. He led the conception and oversaw the implementation of the multi-laboratory partnerships of several DOE and DOE/NSF projects. Since 2019, he is also the project director for the $1.1B LCLS-II Free Electron Laser construction project, built by 5 US national laboratories, which transitioned into operation in 2022. He continues working on strategic initiatives aligned with the Laboratories and Stanford’s agenda and integrated in the Department of Energy’s strategic plans. He has an M.S. equivalent degree in physics from the University of Berlin and a Ph.D. in physics from the Technical University in Darmstadt, Germany. His research interests include synchrotron radiation and neutron sources, fusion, high-energy colliders, linear accelerators, storage rings and accelerator-based neutrino physics. He was a member of the advisory panel for High Energy Physics at the National Academy of Science (EPP 2010). He chaired the Particle Accelerator Conference in 2005, and the Linac Conference Chair in 2006. In June 2008, Professor Holtkamp received the Gersh Budker Prize of the European Physical Society for recent, significant contributions to the accelerator field referring to the success of the SNS project.

Julia Schaletzky joined UC Berkeley's Center for Emerging and Neglected Diseases in fall 2017 and is currently the center’s Executive Director. Originally from Germany, Julia trained as a Biochemist at Bayreuth University and completed her studies in the laboratory of Prof. Francis Barr at the Max-Planck-Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried, Germany. She then went abroad to obtain her PhD in the laboratory of Prof. Tom Rapoport at Harvard Medical School/HHMI. While the main focus was on translocation of proteins across the endoplasmic reticulum membrane, she also volunteered as a mentor for the HHMI EXROP program, training and mentoring students from underrepresented communities over the summer. After completing her PhD, Julia joined Cytokinetics, a biotechnology company in South San Francisco. During her 11 years at Cytokinetics, Julia and her team focused on discovering and developing novel, first-in-class medicines against heart failure and neurodegenerative disorders such as ALS, which are currently in Phase III clinical trials. In addition, she took on several pro-bono projects stemming from academic collaborations, working after hours on successful screens against Trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), Malaria and Toxoplasmosis. Julia is passionate about treating neglected and emerging diseases, establishing effective collaboration between academia and industry and about translating basic science into new companies and ultimately cures. In her free time, Julia enjoys learning new skills, socializing with family and friends, and practicing the Arts.

Tim Angelotti is Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine (Adult MSD) at Stanford Medicine. He specializes in the care of critically ill patients, whether that be during a Life Flight transport, the intensive care unit, or the operating room. His training and experiences have given him the opportunity to learn how to provide critical care services and high risk anesthesia services to a wide variety of adult patients.

Zahar Barth-Manzoori is the Director of the German Center for Research and Innovation (DWIH) in San Francisco. After completing her doctorate in Islamic Studies at the Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel – supported by a scholarship from the German Academic Scholarship Foundation – she began working at the DAAD in Bonn in 2011 as head of the Events and Visitor Programs Department. In 2015, she took over the position as Head of Section Joint Scholarship Programs Middle East, North Africa, returning to her professional roots. From May 2020 until her departure for San Francisco, she played a leading role in setting up DWIH San Francisco as head of the DWIH management office at DAAD. As an experienced science manager and passionate networker, she is particularly looking forward to initiating international university collaborations, fostering knowledge transfer between research, business and society, and supporting research-based innovation in San Francisco.  

Ying Lu is Professor of Biomedical Data Science at Stanford University. He is the Co-Director of the Stanford Center for Innovative Study Design (CISD) and the Biostatistics Core of the Stanford Cancer Institute. CISD develops optimal clinical trial/study designs that gather useful data, perform confirmatory testing, manage risk and are economically efficient and feasible through methodological research on innovative study designs, collaboration with clinical investigators and pharmaceutical industry to promote and implement novel trial designs, training students and professionals and establishment of global partnership with industry, academia and regulatory agencies. Dr. Lu’s research focuses in development of clinical trial design and statistical tools for precision medicine, biomarker validation, and medical decision making. Dr. Lu is an elected fellow of the American Statistical Association and Biostatistics Associate Editor of the JCO Precision Oncology.

Yvonne Lutsch is accomplished Investment Principal at Robert Bosch Venture Capital’s (RBVC) affiliate office located in Sunnyvale, responsible for sourcing, evaluating and executing venture capital deals for RBVC in North America. Her specialty are investments in deep tech fields such as Machine Learning/AI, edge computing, industrial IoT, mobility, next generation computing including quantum, semiconductors, or sensors. She is an investor and non-executive board member of RBVC’s portfolio companies InSyte Systems, Syntiant, Zapata Computing, UltraSense Systems, Aclima, and Recogni.

Prior to this position, Yvonne was Director of Technology Scouting and Business Development for Bosch Automotive Electronics building up an Innovation Center in Silicon Valley. She has more than 19 years of solid experience in operations and engineering in automotive and consumer electronics through different executive roles in Quality Management, Operations and Engineering with Bosch in Germany. Yvonne received a diploma in Experimental Physics from University of Siegen, Germany, and holds a PhD in Applied Physics from University of Tuebingen, Germany.