Dr. David S. Ebert

Co-Founder

David Ebert is the Silicon Valley Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University. He also directs the Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence in visual analytics and the Purdue University Visualization and Analytics Center. Dr. Ebert is a leading expert in integrated, interactive data visualization and analysis, having deployed solutions for effective decision making in medical applications, veterinary applications, public safety, logistics management, weather, and emergency response. He is also very active in the visualization community, teaching courses, presenting papers, co-chairing conference program committees, and holding senior leadership positions in professional societies (IEEE, ACM).

Dr. Christian Butzke

Co-Founder

The Purdue Wine Grape Team’s Professor of Enology, Butzke is a past president of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture and current chairman of the Indy International, one of the largest wine competitions in the world. His Extension responsibilities include professional engagement activities from local winery consultations to global winemaking projects. He is editor of “Winemaking Problems Solved” and author of the popular textbook “Wine Appreciation.” Butzke has also been Director of Winemaking for Sakonnet Vineyards in coastal New England and a tenured faculty member in the world-renowned Department of Viticulture and Enology at the University of California, Davis.

Dr. Phillip R. Owens

Co-Founder

Dr. Phillip Owens is an Associate Professor of Soil Geomorphology/Pedology at Purdue University. His hydropedologic-based research utilizes soil landscape modeling coupled with GIS, remote sensing, terrain attribute analyses and geostatistics to relate soil spatial variability to landscape scale processes. Through this research, Dr. Owens has developed a transformational soil mapping technology that predicts soil properties at a high resolution and relates the soil properties to functional responses of plants. He also serves as the University Liaison to provide technical assistance to the USDA-NCRS Soil Survey, provides soil information to the public, and conducts community education on wetlands and on-site wastewater disposal.