| For more information about this article or gallery, please call the gallery phone number listed in the last line of the article, "For more info..." |
September Issue 2006
Spark Con announces Ping Fu, CEO of Geomagic, as Keynote Speaker for Creative Conference Taking Place in NC's Triangle
Spark Con, the Triangle's first creative conference, will take place the weekend of Sept. 14-17, 2006. The focus is supporting the rich, diverse culture of the Triangle (Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh, NC) and is centered around four workshops examining how to nurture the region's abundant creative talent: Independent Business, the Arts, Technology, and Inclusivity. Workshops and speakers will be held in locations centered in downtown Raleigh along with Spark Con Showcases throughout the Triangle.
On Sept. 14, 2006, Ping Fu, CEO of Geomagic and the 2005 Entrepreneur of the Year by INC. Magazine, will inaugurate the first annual Spark Con event as the keynote speaker. "[As] an inspiring choice, she represents all the ideals of Spark Con," says Isaac Panzarella, Designbox member and green engineer.
Fu survived the persecution of The Cultural Revolution in her native China, to be exiled to the US without resources beyond her own drive and determination. She came to America in 1982, took English up as a second language and computer sciences as a third. "Meeting her and hearing her story is reason enough to attend," says Beth Khalifa, Designbox founder and graphic designer.
Fu co-founded Geomagic in 1996 with husband, Herbert Edelsbrunner, a Duke University professor who developed the mathematical formulas behind Geomagic's software. Headquartered in Research Triangle Park, Fu found a nurturing environment for sourcing the talent and research that drives Geomagic technologies. The company's products enable designers and engineers to scan a 3-D object, capture the data from the scan and then use it to create highly accurate digital models for manufacturers, medical and dental professionals. Fu's technology opens the door to custom-made, locally produced goods to compete with off-shore outsourcing. "Her dream could re-invigorate manufacturing in North Carolina," says Aly Khalifa, Designbox founder and product designer.
Along with Ping Fu, Spark Con welcomes the participation of some of the region's best creative talent. These speakers include Bill Thelen of LUMP gallery, Arthur Gordon of Irregardless Cafe, and Linda Dallas artist and writer. From laboratory tours to fashion shows, the conference will feature those who are using creativity in vital and novel ways, Spark Con's mission is to ignite creativity in the Triangle, reinforcing that it is "The Creative Hub of the South."
For further information
contact Ty Beddingfield by calling 919/834-3552 x207, e-mail at
(info@sparkcon.com) or at (www.sparkcon.com).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing
Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc.
Copyright© 2006 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston
Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts
from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts
Online, Copyright© 2006 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved
by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use
without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina
Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.