Welcome to AV Technology Awards Week here at Installation. This week, we are announcing all of our winners from the main awards programme which of course includes counting down the top 5 in our first ever Pro AV Power 20 initiative.
The Power 20 celebrates the most influential individuals in our marketplace who are demonstrating leadership in areas such as innovation, market influence, commercial/business performance, contribution to good causes, education, professional development, diversity and inclusion, and general industry betterment.
Everyone at Installation and Future would like to congratulate all those nominated for this prestigious list, and for all those involved in helping to identify and recognise this marvelous roll call of influential industry leaders.
Without further ado, we can announce that in fifth place on our Power 20 rankings list is:
Christopher Jaynes, Founder and CTO, Mersive Technologies
Christopher Jaynes founded Mersive Technologies in 2006 and now serves as CTO. He received his Bachelor of Science degree with honours from the School of Computer Science at the University of Utah and went on to receive his doctoral degree at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he worked on artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction technologies. His work in academics and at Mersive has led to over 100 published scientific articles, over 20 patents, and the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER award, which recognises emerging leaders in their scientific field early in their career.
Jaynes is an active member of the AV/IT community, participating regularly in industry events and speaking engagements. He shares his knowledge through his blog The Visualist, which focuses on software and the AV experience. His new podcast Tech+ explores how technology intersects with history, the human experience, and the economy to create social impact. His focus on community building and his advocacy of the AV space as an important pillar of technology and innovation has led to his recognition outside of AV. In 2019, Chris was awarded the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award, recognising his business and community leadership.
Quickfire Q&A
Who’s had the greatest influence on your career?
My graduate school PhD advisors, Ed Riseman and Allen Hanson; they instilled in me a view that science and discovery should take place in context for it to have impact. It’s probably why I started a company.
Who did/do you look up to as a role model professionally?
Dr Ruzena Bajcsy: she is the epitome of academic success that has real impact on society. Her early work in robotics and computer vision led to some of the most important breakthroughs that support things we now take for granted. At the same time, she’s given back to the community by serving at the National Science Foundation and directing the important CITRIS that focus on society and innovation. She also was a woman pioneer in a field that was heavily dominated by men. She is also a pleasure to work with and has a positive outlook.
How do you measure success?
By how the things I and my team invent have a positive impact on people’s lives.
What’s your biggest professional regret?
Probably spending too long before pivoting to Solstice. I could see the opportunity for a wireless, free experience in the meeting room, but we were already on a path and the risk of a pivot took time to accept.
If you were a teenager today, what profession would you go into?
Computational Biology. Exciting times for ‘molecular programming’.
You can read the full interview with Christopher Jaynes, and all of our Power 20 inductees in our special ebook released this Thursday.
Awards week
The rankings countdown continues tomorrow when we unveil position 4, with the top three announced on Thursday. The person ranked number one will receive the Power 20 award for Most Influential Person of the Year.
You can read exclusive long form interviews with all of the Pro AV Power 20 members in a special ebook which will be released on Thursday. A full report on all AV Tech Awards winners will be published in the July/August edition of Installation.
