Singularity University aims to educate leaders about exponentially advancing technologies. Its 10-week Graduate Studies Program covers topics like artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and nanotechnology. Students work in multidisciplinary teams on projects to address global challenges. The Executive Program provides a shorter introduction to emerging technologies for business and government leaders. Both programs take place at NASA Research Park, and bring together innovators and advisors from academia and industry.

2. Salim Ismail
Singularity University Global Ambassador &
Founding Executive Director
@salimismail
www.salimismail.com

3. See Spot Run
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4. See Spot Run
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5. The History of Technology

6. Technological Improvements
Extraordinary Century of Progress
• Human life-expectancy more than doubled
• Infant mortality reduced by 90%
• Maternal mortality reduced by 99%
• Cost of electricity reduced by 20-fold
• Cost of transportation reduced 100-fold
• Telecom, information reduced by 1000-fold

7. Technological Improvements
Effect of technology on our lives…
1900 2000
Transport Boston à Chicago 1 months wage ½ day’s wage
A 3 min phone call (NY - LA) 19 hours of work <1 min work
A kilowatt-hour of electricity 1 hour wage <1 min work
5,000 lumen-hours (light) 1 hour wage <1 seconds

8. Stress & Opportunity

9. Not for Duplication/Distribution | Copyright Salim Ismail | 2009-2011

10. Founders
Singularity University was founded
in Sept 2008 by Drs. Ray Kurzweil
& Peter Diamandis

11. September 2008 Founding Conference
SU Founding Meeting @ NASA Ames - Sept 2008; 50 leaders from the Bay Area

12. Larry Page – Go Big
Observation - many of our grand
challenges are rooted in
accelerating factors
“Are you working on something that can change the world? Yes or no? The
answer for 99.99999% of people in the world is ‘no.’ I think we need to be
training people on how to change the world. Obviously technologies are the
way to do that. That’s what we’ve seen in the past, that’s what driven all the
change.”
- Larry Page, Google Co-Founder at SU founding conference

13. Mission
Our mission is to assemble, educate
and inspire a new generation of
leaders who strive to understand
and facilitate the development of
exponentially advancing
technologies to address humanity’s Disruptive
Stress/
Opportunity
grand challenges

14. Educational Programs
Graduate Studies Program
10 Weeks
•1x per year, 80 Rising Leaders, Focus on Team Projects
Executive Programs •Multiplex per year, 60-80 Participants
7 Days •For established Business, policy leaders, entrepreneurs
FutureMed •1x per year, 60-80 Participants
5 Days •Focus on Future of Medicine and Biotech
Future Security •1x per year, 60-80 Participants
3-5 Days •Focus on Future of Info and Personal Security
Custom •Multiplex per year, XXX Participants
Programs •Tailored for specific organization (corporate, government, etc.)
1 -3 Days

15. Graduate Studies Program
Singularity University
Graduate Studies Program
NASA Research Park

16. GSP Academic Tracks
Technology Tracks Application Tracks
• Artificial Intelligence & Robotics • Energy &
• Nanotechnology & Digital Fabrication Environmental Systems
• Networks & Computing Systems • Space & Physical
Sciences
• Biotechnology & Bioinformatics
• Medicine & Neuroscience
Resource/Mgmt Tracks
• Futures Studies & Forecasting
• Policy, Law & Ethics
• Design
• Finance & Economics
• Entrepreneurship

17. Examples of Advisory Faculty & Speakers
Other Notable:
•Sebastian Thrun, Stanford AI, GoogleX;
Founder – Udacity
•Saul Griffith, PhD, Eyeglasses, Squid Labs,
Instructables.com, Makani Power
•Dan Kammen, PhD – Lead Author, 2007
Nobel Peace Prize-winning IPCC report;
Faculty, UC Berkeley
•Bob Metcalfe, PhD, Founder, 3Com; co-
inventor of Ethernet
•Chris DiBona, Open Source Program
Vint Cerf Will Wright George Smoot, PhD Dean Kamen Manager, Google Inc.
Chief Internet Creator – SimCity, UC Berkeley; 2006 Inventor, •Larry Smarr, PhD, California Inst. for
Evangelist, Google Spore; Founder, Nobel Prize in Founder DEKA Telecom & IT
Maxis (EA) Physics •Chris deCharms, PhD, Founder Omneruon
•Tim Ferriss, Author- 4-hour Workweek
Sonia Arrison Aubrey de Grey, PhD Tina Seelig Justin Rattner Yvonne Cagel, M.D. Craig Venter
Senior Fellow, Pacific Chairman & CSO, Exec Dir Stanford CTO, Intel Labs Astronaut, Colonel- Founder, CEO
Research Institute SENS Foundation Tech Ventures USAF Synthetic Genomics

18. Track Chairs
Dan Barry, MD Neil Jacobstein Daniel Kraft, MD Ralph Merkle, PhD Brad Templeton Raymond McCauley
(Space; AI, Robotics) (AI, Robotics) (Medicine) (Nanotechnology) (Computer & (Biotechnology)
NASA astronaut; AI CEO, Visiting Stem cell Biology, Inst. for Molecular Networks) CSO-Genomera;
Head of Faculty Scholar Stanford Stanford Manufacturing Chairman EFF Founder -BioCurious
Andrew Hessel Robert Freitas Marc Goodman David S. Rose Gregg Maryniak Jonathan Knowles
(Biotechnology) (Nanotechnology) (Policy Law & (Finance) (Energy) (Design)
Co-Founder Pink Inst for Molecular Ethics) CEO Gust, Chair NY Founding Exec. Dir Senior Advisor
Army Cooperative Manufacturing Futurist for FBI Angels XPrize Found. Autodesk; Apple

19. Who are the students?
GSP Admissions Criteria:
• Extraordinary Brilliance
• Proven entrepreneurs with
GSP’11 Class Photo
proven successes
• Proven interest in the
world’s “grand challenges”
• Graduate/post-Grad level
• Average age: 30
GSP-2010: 80 Students / 35 countries

20. Student Selection Criteria
Three primary Selection Criteria for students:
Top in their field Demonstrated Passionate about
academically Entrepreneurs/Leaders Grand Challenges
GSP Applicants
4100
2600
1600
1200
2009 2010 2011 2012 GSP-2010: 80 Students / 35 countries

21. Innovation Engine
10 Week Program phases:

22. Team Projects 109+
Environment

23. Innovation Engine
10 Week Program phases:

24. ACASA - Technology
• Build a 2-bedroom house in 1 ½ days
with 30w of power using local materials
• It is projected to cost less than half of
conventional masonry.
• The approach is already building 8’ walls
• Proof of concept exists, the next step is
to commercialize it

25. SU EPO11 Participant Feedback
Grand Challenge
1.4 billion in extreme poverty
1 billion with no access to all-season roads

26. SU EPO11 Participant Feedback

27. SU EPO11 Participant Feedback
Solution
The Matternet:
- autonomous, electric, flying vehicles
- automated ground stations
- AI-driven logistics software

28. • Peer-to-peer car sharing marketplace
• Average car costs $8,200/year and sits idle 92%
of the time
• Car sharing projected to be $6.5B industry by
2016 (Frost & Sullivan)
• Patent-pending in-car technology
• Seamless smartphone-driven user experience
• Comprehensive nationwide insurance
GETAROUND WINS
2011 TECHCRUNCH
DISRUPT CUP
Not for Duplication/Distribution | Copyright Salim Ismail | 2009-2011

29. Results
2009 - 4 startups from the Team Projects
2010 – 10 startups
2011 – 11 startups
2010 Team Project Themes:
• Food for Cities – Opportunities in Controlled Environment
Agriculture and Vertical Farming
• Home Energy Usage – Off-the-Grid, Stand-alone, Carbon-Neutral,
Residential Energy System
• Upcycle – Waste Reduction and Reprocessing Waste Into Useful
Products
• Water – Sustainable Water Assets: Holistic Alternatives to Capital-
intensive Infrastructures
• Space – To Boldly Stay: Extending Humanity into the Solar System

30. Larry Page – Google
“If I were a student, this
is where I’d want to be”
- Larry Page
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31. Curriculum Planning Meetings

32. Graduate Studies Program
Singularity University
Executive Program
NASA Research Park

33. Executive Program Overview
Executive Program Participants: Entrepreneurs, CEOs, CTOs, investors, inventors,
government leaders, and policy experts from around the world

34. Executive Program Overview
The program concentrates on six exponential growing
technologies:
1. Artificial Intelligence & Robotics Discussions
2. Nanotechnology Exercises
3. Biotechnology & Bioinformatics Workshops
4. Medicine & Neuroscience Site Visits
5. Networks & Computing Systems Industry Implications
6. Energy & Environmental Systems
The EP provides an understanding of how these accelerating technologies
will transform your business and your industry by showing you what is in the
lab today and where the technologies will be within the next 3 to 10 years.

35. Classroom

36. Next EP – APril 11-18, 2012

37. Seeding the Future
1. Students return home with expanded minds/
networks
2. Executives apply this paradigm to their
industries

38. Key Takeaways
Exponential Technological Change
Abundance
Disruptive Convergence
Look forward not back
Think big - 109+ Impact
Entrepreneurial and Collaborative

39. Zero to SU in Two Years
Speaking to Secretary Hillary Clinton & 70 govt heads
Private mtg with President >
Shimon Peres of Israel

40. SU EPO11 Participant Feedback
EXPO2015 - “Feeding the Planet”
June 20, 2011 - SU & Expo2015 announce multi-year partnership

41. Milano

42. Discussion / Q&A

43. Sorting Applications
Color coding & sticky dots.... !!

44. Change the World
Piloted student contest with Brazilian Univ
– “Conceive and implement an idea to impact 1
million people around Sao Paulo”

45. Change the World
Extraordinary results:
• Time: two months
• Projects created: 230
• Potential impact: PRICELESS
Fabio Teixeira - Winner

46. SU Impact Contests
“To win the chance to attend SU and work on projects to impact a billion people, come up
with an idea that would impact a million people in your area.. and start implementing
it”
• 2011 – 12 students/500 projects
(Brazil, Israel, Russia, Israel, Palestine, Guatemala, Spain, U.S.)
• 2012 - 23 students/17 countries/1000 projects

47. SU Global Impact Competition
“To win the chance to attend SU and work on projects to
impact a billion people, come up with an idea that
would impact one million people within five years...
and start implementing it”.
• Winner – receives full scholarship to
attend SU ~ $30k
• All winners also get $10k of software
from Autodesk
• Looking for additional award funding:
• 2nd Place - $15k to implement project
• 3rd Place - $10k to implement project

48. Expo 2015

49. Where will Exponential
Technology
Create the next $100B+ industry?
Nanotech
AI / Robotics +
Biotech + Networks
Internet, Social Media,
Computers, Mobile phones
1990
2000
2010
2020
2030
2040

50. Recent News…

51. Structural Issues in the U.S
Democracy? Really?
Political polarization & regulatory failure
Long term planning? Where?
Infrastructure
- energy
- health
- education
- finance
- physical
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52. Human development over 150,000
years
Exponential &
Local & Linear
Global