Dr. Phillip Alvelda, founder of Cortical, was, until March, 2017, a Program Manager in DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office, where he is developed programs to take the latest neural engineering science and technology out of the laboratory and seed the creation of new mind-enabled industries.

A scientist, engineer, serial entrepreneur and educator, Dr. Alvelda previously worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he developed sensors that have flown throughout the solar system, and has founded new infrastructure, telecommunications and media companies, including the DARPA-funded MicroDisplay; MobiTV; TaDa Innovations; and the non-profit Westminster Institute for K-12 Science Education Reform.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Cornell University, and Masters and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, has authored or contributed to more than 50 technical publications and holds numerous patents and a Technical Emmy award from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.