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Ken Biba
Oakland, California, United States
“Insatiable curiosity.”
bio
Ken Biba has over 45 years of experience in the computer network industry. He has a unique background combining general management, product and marketing skills and a particular expertise in the areas of wireless network systems and information security. Ken was an early engineer of the Internet in 1975 and has co-founded and managed four notable network companies including one IPO. He is a passionate advocate for hobby rocketry as a vehicle for STEM education. Ken is currently a managing partner and co-founder of Novarum – a strategic technology and market advisory firm with the leading knowledge of scaling WiFi and wireless technologies from small networks to large enterprises and municipalities. Novarum has independently analyzed and measured over 500 deployed wireless municipal networks and has the world’s best experience base in how wireless networks succeed or fail. Projects include new wireless public safety systems for Minneapolis, a new 4G class municipal WiFi network for Cleveland and creating a new broadband measurement and benchmarking system for the California Public Utility Commission. Ken has testified before the Assembly and California Public Utility Commission. The FCC has recently incorporated many of the findings of this CPUC system into the Net Neutrality rules and the Commission is using this tool to help administer the California Advanced Services Fund in California for investment in broadband infrastructure focussed on closing the digital divide. Ken is co-founder, Chairman and CEO of OpenSpace Networks, a stealth startup examining ultra low-cost IoT solutions using low cost constellations of CubeSats in Low Earth Orbit. OpenSpace has put one test satellite in LEO orbit. Ken was the co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Vivato – defining the new standard in scaling Wi-Fi infrastructure to the enterprise and metropolitan areas using advanced cognitive radio techniques. Vivato raised over $65M from leadership investors including Leapfrog Ventures, US Venture Partners, Walden International, Advanced Technology Ventures, Intel, Silicon Valley Bank and GATX. Ken served as EVP/COO and Director of Xircom (1993-99), taking the company from $10M annual sales to $150M, transforming the company to a mobile communications leader, executing a successful IPO and sponsoring Xircom’s pioneering efforts in wireless LAN technology and laying the foundations for the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless LAN standards. Ken is one of the early inventors of WiFi and instrumental in the construction of the IEEE 802.11 standard. Xircom was acquired by Intel. Ken served on the Board of DeskTalk Systems, helping transform the company for a small entrepreneurial company to a leader in the network management space. After one round of venture financing, the company was acquired by Hewlett Packard. Ken co-founded and was a Director, Chief Operating Officer and later President of Agilis (1989-92) – the first company to develop and market handheld mobile Windows computers. Ken co-founded and was Director and SVP for Marketing and Product Development at Sytek (1979-87) – one of the pioneering LAN technology companies (arguably inventing cable modems and supplying IBM’s first local area network for personal computers) and through 1985 the largest such company with $100M in annual sales until its sale to Hughes to become Hughes Network Systems. Ken began his career with the Mitre Corporation (1975-77) in computer security and networking R&D where he was responsible for early work in computer security and integrity policy, the first kernelized secure UNIX implementation and was a member of the original DARPA TCP Working Group under Dr. Vint Cerf - the true founder of the modern Internet. Subsequently at Ford Aerospace (1978-79), he led efforts that resulted in the one of the first implementations of TCP/IP on a local area network and the first fiber optic token ring local area network. Ken has a Bachelor of Science in Physics (Magna Cum Laude, Tau Beta Pi) and a Master of Science in Computer Science from Case Western Reserve University. He was a Finalist in the 1968 Westinghouse (now Intel) Science Talent Search. He has held codeword security clearances. Ken is a Born Again Rocketeer, having rediscovered rocketry in the early 90’s to inspire his son towards curiosity and critical thinking about the world. A member of both the National Association of Rocketry (NRA) and the Tripoli Rocketry Association (TRA) for over 20 years, he has served on the Tripoli Rocketry Association (www.tripoli.org) Board of Directors, is past Chairman of the Board of Directors of AeroPac, Inc. (www.aeropac.org) (the California educational nonprofit corporation Tripoli Prefecture that sponsors 3 annual launches at the Black Rock Desert each year for the past 25) and holds a Tripoli and NAR Level 3 high power rocketry certification. Ken is a long time member of TRA’s Technical Advisory Panel that certifies new high power amateur rocketeers and established rules for safety of the hobby. He is a a past member of TRA’s Competition Committee and Chairs AeroPac’s ARLISS program - A Rocket Launch for Student Satellites (www.arliss.org) (https://www.dropbox.com/s/1icw9qdsnx1c7px/ARLISS%202013%20Report.pdf?dl=0) - a Professor Bob Twiggs (inventor of the CanSat and the CubeSat) inspired competition that for over 20 years has combined rocketry, robots and satellites for over 3000 international aerospace engineering students. Students participating in this program have gone on to be collectively responsible for over 100 international satellites in both earth orbit and space exploration. He mentors middle school and high school students in rocketry for STEM via National Association of Rocketry’s (NAR - www.nar.org) highly successful Team America Rocketry Competition (www.rocketcontest.org) and NASA’s Student Launch Initiative (https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/studentlaunch/home/index.html). His teams have reached the finals and top ten in the US. He volunteers as operations staff for both events. He led the AeroPac team that won the Carmack Prize (sponsored by John Carmack) for the first hobby rocketry team to have a documented and fully recovered rocketry flight above 100k’ (https://www.dropbox.com/s/gvydn018q448x63/AeroPac2012100kProgramReport.pdf?dl=0). That program has now become the ARLISS Extreme program - offering student science payloads the opportunity to fly sounding rocket missions to over 40 km for very low cost (https://www.dropbox.com/s/2huoxgdc40aq10d/ARLISS%20Xtreme%202015.pdf?dl=0). The recovered airframe is one the centerpiece exhibits of the Seattle Museum of Flight’s exhibit honoring amateur rocketry. The project was awarded the National Association of Rocketry’s Presidential Achievement Award. Ken has led the AeroPac Virtual Classroom project to create a mobile van based remote classroom using satellite and WiFi technology to offer modern Internet communications to remote rocket and balloon launches and safety emergencies (https://www.dropbox.com/s/8e5mo9i3eqb6fdq/Virtual%20Classroom%202014%20Pamphlet.pdf?dl=0). Ken has led AeroPac’s S4 (Small Satellites for Secondary Students) program - creating a baseline design for small robotic payloads based on the PocketQube pico satellite standard (https://www.dropbox.com/s/wshco373r8sqk3h/S4%20Student%20Satellite.pdf?dl=0). Ken holds a HAM radio license - KG6DLV.
“Insatiable curiosity.”
bio
Ken Biba has over 45 years of experience in the computer network industry. He has a unique background combining general management, product and marketing skills and a particular expertise in the areas of wireless network systems and information security. Ken was an early engineer of the Internet in 1975 and has co-founded and managed four notable network companies including one IPO. He is a passionate advocate for hobby rocketry as a vehicle for STEM education. Ken is currently a managing partner and co-founder of Novarum – a strategic technology and market advisory firm with the leading knowledge of scaling WiFi and wireless technologies from small networks to large enterprises and municipalities. Novarum has independently analyzed and measured over 500 deployed wireless municipal networks and has the world’s best experience base in how wireless networks succeed or fail. Projects include new wireless public safety systems for Minneapolis, a new 4G class municipal WiFi network for Cleveland and creating a new broadband measurement and benchmarking system for the California Public Utility Commission. Ken has testified before the Assembly and California Public Utility Commission. The FCC has recently incorporated many of the findings of this CPUC system into the Net Neutrality rules and the Commission is using this tool to help administer the California Advanced Services Fund in California for investment in broadband infrastructure focussed on closing the digital divide. Ken is co-founder, Chairman and CEO of OpenSpace Networks, a stealth startup examining ultra low-cost IoT solutions using low cost constellations of CubeSats in Low Earth Orbit. OpenSpace has put one test satellite in LEO orbit. Ken was the co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Vivato – defining the new standard in scaling Wi-Fi infrastructure to the enterprise and metropolitan areas using advanced cognitive radio techniques. Vivato raised over $65M from leadership investors including Leapfrog Ventures, US Venture Partners, Walden International, Advanced Technology Ventures, Intel, Silicon Valley Bank and GATX. Ken served as EVP/COO and Director of Xircom (1993-99), taking the company from $10M annual sales to $150M, transforming the company to a mobile communications leader, executing a successful IPO and sponsoring Xircom’s pioneering efforts in wireless LAN technology and laying the foundations for the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless LAN standards. Ken is one of the early inventors of WiFi and instrumental in the construction of the IEEE 802.11 standard. Xircom was acquired by Intel. Ken served on the Board of DeskTalk Systems, helping transform the company for a small entrepreneurial company to a leader in the network management space. After one round of venture financing, the company was acquired by Hewlett Packard. Ken co-founded and was a Director, Chief Operating Officer and later President of Agilis (1989-92) – the first company to develop and market handheld mobile Windows computers. Ken co-founded and was Director and SVP for Marketing and Product Development at Sytek (1979-87) – one of the pioneering LAN technology companies (arguably inventing cable modems and supplying IBM’s first local area network for personal computers) and through 1985 the largest such company with $100M in annual sales until its sale to Hughes to become Hughes Network Systems. Ken began his career with the Mitre Corporation (1975-77) in computer security and networking R&D where he was responsible for early work in computer security and integrity policy, the first kernelized secure UNIX implementation and was a member of the original DARPA TCP Working Group under Dr. Vint Cerf - the true founder of the modern Internet. Subsequently at Ford Aerospace (1978-79), he led efforts that resulted in the one of the first implementations of TCP/IP on a local area network and the first fiber optic token ring local area network. Ken has a Bachelor of Science in Physics (Magna Cum Laude, Tau Beta Pi) and a Master of Science in Computer Science from Case Western Reserve University. He was a Finalist in the 1968 Westinghouse (now Intel) Science Talent Search. He has held codeword security clearances. Ken is a Born Again Rocketeer, having rediscovered rocketry in the early 90’s to inspire his son towards curiosity and critical thinking about the world. A member of both the National Association of Rocketry (NRA) and the Tripoli Rocketry Association (TRA) for over 20 years, he has served on the Tripoli Rocketry Association (www.tripoli.org) Board of Directors, is past Chairman of the Board of Directors of AeroPac, Inc. (www.aeropac.org) (the California educational nonprofit corporation Tripoli Prefecture that sponsors 3 annual launches at the Black Rock Desert each year for the past 25) and holds a Tripoli and NAR Level 3 high power rocketry certification. Ken is a long time member of TRA’s Technical Advisory Panel that certifies new high power amateur rocketeers and established rules for safety of the hobby. He is a a past member of TRA’s Competition Committee and Chairs AeroPac’s ARLISS program - A Rocket Launch for Student Satellites (www.arliss.org) (https://www.dropbox.com/s/1icw9qdsnx1c7px/ARLISS%202013%20Report.pdf?dl=0) - a Professor Bob Twiggs (inventor of the CanSat and the CubeSat) inspired competition that for over 20 years has combined rocketry, robots and satellites for over 3000 international aerospace engineering students. Students participating in this program have gone on to be collectively responsible for over 100 international satellites in both earth orbit and space exploration. He mentors middle school and high school students in rocketry for STEM via National Association of Rocketry’s (NAR - www.nar.org) highly successful Team America Rocketry Competition (www.rocketcontest.org) and NASA’s Student Launch Initiative (https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/studentlaunch/home/index.html). His teams have reached the finals and top ten in the US. He volunteers as operations staff for both events. He led the AeroPac team that won the Carmack Prize (sponsored by John Carmack) for the first hobby rocketry team to have a documented and fully recovered rocketry flight above 100k’ (https://www.dropbox.com/s/gvydn018q448x63/AeroPac2012100kProgramReport.pdf?dl=0). That program has now become the ARLISS Extreme program - offering student science payloads the opportunity to fly sounding rocket missions to over 40 km for very low cost (https://www.dropbox.com/s/2huoxgdc40aq10d/ARLISS%20Xtreme%202015.pdf?dl=0). The recovered airframe is one the centerpiece exhibits of the Seattle Museum of Flight’s exhibit honoring amateur rocketry. The project was awarded the National Association of Rocketry’s Presidential Achievement Award. Ken has led the AeroPac Virtual Classroom project to create a mobile van based remote classroom using satellite and WiFi technology to offer modern Internet communications to remote rocket and balloon launches and safety emergencies (https://www.dropbox.com/s/8e5mo9i3eqb6fdq/Virtual%20Classroom%202014%20Pamphlet.pdf?dl=0). Ken has led AeroPac’s S4 (Small Satellites for Secondary Students) program - creating a baseline design for small robotic payloads based on the PocketQube pico satellite standard (https://www.dropbox.com/s/wshco373r8sqk3h/S4%20Student%20Satellite.pdf?dl=0). Ken holds a HAM radio license - KG6DLV.
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