GBTC Names Aris Melissaratos as Baltimore’s Extraordinary Technology Advocate (BETA) Award Winner for 2008
Thursday, August 14th, 2008GBTC NAMES aris melissaratos AS BALTIMORE’S EXTRAORDINARY TECHNOLOGY ADVOCATE (BETA) AWARD WINNER FOR 2008
BALTIMORE, MD (8/13/08) – The Greater Baltimore Technology Council (GBTC) is pleased to announced that Aris Melissaratos, Senior Advisor to the President for Enterprise Development at John Hopkins University has been named the 2008 BETA (Baltimore’s Extraordinary Technology Advocate) award winner. The BETA Award is presented at the GBTC’s annual TechNite celebration to an individual whose words and actions have had an outstanding impact on the Greater Baltimore technology community.
“Mr. Melissaratos has been a force for growth in the Greater Baltimore community throughout his entire career and has continuously devoted his efforts to expanding and fostering technology in the region,” explained GBTC Executive Director Steve Kozak. “He has been involved with numerous organizations that have helped make a difference in our area, from Westinghouse Electronics to the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. He’s a true testament to the advocacy and promotion of economic activity in the state and beyond. We’re fortunate to have the opportunity to honor him at TechNite.”
Melissaratos, a 1966 Johns Hopkins graduate and longtime member of the Whiting School of Engineering’s National Advisory Council, currently has overall responsibility for building the university’s relationship with business and forging new connections between the research and corporate communities.
Melissaratos, whose undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins is in electrical engineering, spent most of his career with Westinghouse Electronics in Baltimore, eventually becoming vice president of science and technology and chief technology officer at corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh. Before joining state government in 2003 as Secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, he also served as vice president of Thermo Electron Corp. and founded Armel Private Equity Investments.
He holds a master’s degree in engineering management from George Washington University and did graduate work in international politics at Catholic University of America. Melissaratos has also completed a program for management development at Harvard Business School.
Melissaratos will be presented with the BETA Award at TechNite 2008 which will be held on Thursday, October 2, 5:00 - 8:30 p.m., at the Baltimore Convention Center. Previous BETA recipients have included Paul Silber, InVitro Technologies, Frank Bonsal, New Enterprise Associates, Steve Walker, Steve Walker and Associates & Walker Ventures; former SafeNet CEO Tony Caputo; Frank Adams, Grotech Capital Group; Bill Streuver, Streuver Bros. Eccles & Rouse; Chris Foster, former Deputy Secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) and Jeong Kim of Lucent Technologies.
BETA nominees are submitted by the GBTC Board and by TechNite sponsors. The nominee list is then distributed to our past BETA award winners and it is narrowed down to three potential candidates. The final candidate list is sent back to the GBTC board for a final vote.
About TechNite (www.gbtechcouncil.org/technite2008)
Registration| Sponsorship | TechNite 2008
TechNite is the Greater Baltimore Region’s premiere night out to celebrate the business and technology community. The evening draws more than 1,000 attendees from tech executives and entrepreneurs, to Fortune 500 businesses, university and government officials and more. Frans Johansson, the thought leader who brought us the best selling book The Medici Effect, will be the featured speaker for the evening.