Caleb Harper, principal investigator and director of the MIT Media Lab Open Agriculture (OpenAG) initiative, will address LIGHTFAIR^® International 2019 Conference attendees in a keynote presentation on Monday, May 20, 2019. Alex Kanjeev, president of O’Leary Ventures, gives LFI Trade Show opening day remarks on Tuesday, May 21, 2019.

Harper is a National Geographic Emerging Explorer and a member of the World Economic Forum (WEF) New Vision for Agriculture Transformation Leaders Network.  His research focuses in the areas of control environment design, actuated sensing, control automation and data-driven resource, energy and biologic optimization. His diverse group of engineers, architects, and scientists, together with strategic partners, is developing open-source agricultural hardware, software and data common with the goal of creating a more agile, responsive and collaborative food system.  Harper’s work has been featured by TIME, WIRED, The Economist, National Geographic, The Smithsonian, Huffington Post, Popular Science, IEEE, and TED. 

Prior to joining the MIT Media Lab in 2011, Harper worked professionally as an Architect designing and developing data centers, health care and semi-conductor fabrication facilities. He has consulted with multiple international development agencies, including USAID, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and the Delhi Development Authority on high-density urban development projects.

In a no-nonsense, informative, and uplifting Opening Day speech “Everything is Changing and So Should You: How to Crush It (or Be Crushed) in the Super-Economy of Tomorrow,” Kenjeev will unpack five unstoppable mega-trends to inspires LFI Conference attendees to see big opportunities on the horizon. 

As president of O’Leary Ventures, Kenjeev is Kevin O’Leary’s right-hand man. He negotiates with, oversees, and mentors a portfolio of rapidly growing businesses across many industries.  He also co-founded a software company that was acquired three years later for more than $100 million, is an investor CNBC’s Make Me a Millionaire Inventor and a frequent contributor on CTV. 

Visit LIGHTFAIR.COM/conference/keynotes for additional information about the LIGHTFAIR International 2019 Speakers. 

For LIGHTFAIR International 2019, the Pre-Conference program will take place from Sunday, May 19 – Monday, May 20 and the LFI Trade Show and Conference will run from Tuesday, May 21 – Thursday, May 23 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.  For more information about LIGHTFAIR International, please visit LIGHTFAIR.COM.