The InnerSpace Foundation
Exploring, enhancing, enriching innerspace

InnerSpace Foundation People

Trustees

Pete Estep
"Serious efforts to enhance mind
and memory have just begun. When
we look back on this time our current limitations will seem primitive."

Preston W. (Pete) Estep III, Ph.D.

Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer


Dr. Estep grew up in St. Louis, Missouri amid the towering influence of Charles Lindbergh, one of the most famous and heroic figures of the 20th century. His early years were filled with wonder and inspiration by daring and visionary aerospace and astronomy heroes such as Lindbergh, NASA astronauts, Howard Hughes, and Carl Sagan. But his early deep interest in physics, astronomy, and outer space eventually turned even more deeply inward toward a wonder and interest in the origins and nature of human thought and intelligence. Dr. Estep is a graduate of Cornell University, where he earned a B.S. degree and performed neuroscience research as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute undergraduate scholar. He earned a Ph.D. in Genetics from Harvard Medical School performing research in the laboratory of genomics pioneer Dr. George Church. Dr. Estep has founded and advised multiple technology startup companies and organizations. He is a co-founder and former CEO of the longevity research biotechnology company Longenity, Inc., and is an adviser to the Personal Genome Project (http://www.personalgenomes.org), an "open-source" genome project based at Harvard Medical School. He is an inventor of several technologies including DNA chip-based readout of transposon-based selections and universal DNA protein-binding microarrays (PBMs). Dr. Estep started the InnerSpace Foundation to aid research and development efforts of today's pioneers as they explore and expand the innerspace frontier.
James Clement
"The InnerSpace Foundation will
do for brain-computer interfaces and cognitive enhancement what the X-Prize
is doing for manned space flight."

James W. Clement, J.D., LL.M.

President


Mr. Clement is an attorney and serial entrepreneur. Following his graduation from the University of California-Hastings College of Law in 1982 with his Juris Doctorate, he practiced international business and real estate law in Hawaii for a private law firm. He later attended the Graduate Tax Program at the New York University School of Law, where he received his Master in Laws (Taxation) in 1986. He served as Tax Manager in the International Services Office of Arthur Young & Company in NYC from 1985 until 1988, when he left to pursue entrepreneurial activities on a full-time basis. He has been a manager, officer, and director in numerous companies across a broad range of business sectors, including real estate, financial services, hospitality, manufacturing, and energy. In addition to co-founding the InnerSpace Foundation, he has worked in legal and executive capacities for several forward-looking organizations. Mr. Clement has done neuroscience research and is an advocate of a full range of approaches for improvement of mind and memory. He is a member of MENSA and is an adviser for and investor in the mental fitness drink Smartz. Mr. Clement holds Series 7 and 66 licenses from the N.A.S.D. and is an Accredited Asset Management Specialist from the College of Financial Planning.
Derya Unutmaz
"We are drowning in a rising tide of information. Enhancing our brains to better filter, store and process this overload is our best hope to solve this problem."

Derya Unutmaz, M.D.


Dr. Unutmaz is Associate Professor of Microbiology at the New York University (NYU) School of Medicine. He received his medical degree from Marmara University in Turkey and his postdoctoral training at the Skirball Institute, NYU School of Medicine. He is on the editorial boards of prestigious scientific journals including Journal of Immunology, Virology, and PLoS ONE. Dr. Unutmaz is a strong advocate of science and technology and is a keen student of accelerating technological advances and their potential for future impact. He writes Biosingularity (http://biosingularity.wordpress.com), a popular blog on advancements in biologically related sciences. Dr. Unutmaz runs a laboratory research program at NYU directed toward understanding the human immune system, HIV infection and pathogenesis, hematopoietic stem cells, aging of the immune system, and programming and reprogramming the differentiated states of lymphocytes. He believes that accelerating advances in various sciences, engineering, and technology research and development will have an unprecedented and positive impact on human health, lifespans, and cognitive abilities.
Tyler Emerson

Tyler Emerson


Tyler Emerson is curator of Singularity Summit and founding executive director of Singularity Institute, a nonprofit research and educational institute for the long term study of benefits and risks of advanced artificial intelligence systems. Collaborators include National Medal of Technology winner Ray Kurzweil and investor and philanthropist Peter Thiel. He became an IF Trustee to help build it into the premier neuroengineering foundation. He brings experience to IF in administration, fundraising, communications, and community organizing. Prior to Singularity Institute, he worked with Acceleration Studies Foundation and Foresight Nanotech Institute.
Derya Unutmaz

Zack Lynch


Zack Lynch is the executive director of the Neurotechnology Industry Organization (NIO) and the managing director of NeuroInsights. He serves on the advisory boards of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT,Center for Cognitive Liberty & Ethics, the Center for Neuroeconomic Studies and SocialText, a social software company. He is currently writing a book on how neurotech is shaping business, politics and culture.

B. Douglas Morriss


Mr. Morriss is the Chairman and General Partner of Acartha Group, LLC, a St. Louis, MO venture capital firm. He was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kinexus, a financial services technology firm, which was sold to Advent Software in 2001. In addition, Mr. Morriss is a Managing Partner of Gryphon Investments, founder of the Gryphon Holdings funds and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of several private investment holding companies and family controlled private equity holding companies. He has served on the Board of Directors of Kinexus and PlusFunds and serves on the Board of Kanbay International (NASDAQ: KBAY), Lobue Holdings, Inc (Nevada), Multiplus Finance S.A. (Switzerland), X.Eye Inc. (Ontario) and, Cirqit (New Jersey).