Spherix Board Members
Click on each member's name to view a short bio on them.
Douglas T. Brown - Board Member
Claire L. Kruger - Board Member and CEO
Gilbert V. Levin - Board Member and Chairman Emeritus
Aris Melissaratos - Board Member
Robert A. Lodder, Jr. - Board Member and President
Thomas B. Peter – Board Member
Robert J. Vander Zanden - Board Member
Contact investor relations at info@spherix.com
Mr. Douglas T. Brown
Mr. Douglas T. Brown, Spherix Incorporated Board Member since 2004, is Senior Vice President and Manager of the Corporate Banking Government Contracting Group for PNC Bank N.A., Washington, DC. Mr. Brown has been with PNC and its predecessor bank, Riggs Bank, since 2001 and previously worked for Bank of America, N.A. and its predecessor banks for 16 years as a Loan Officer, as well as a manager of Loan Officers in the Mid-Atlantic region. Subsequent to 1990, the majority of Mr. Brown’s customers were companies that provided services to the Federal Government and State governments. Mr. Brown holds a B.A. degree in Political Science from American University and a graduate degree from The Stonier Graduate School of Banking at the University of Delaware.
Dr. Claire L. Kruger
Dr. Claire L. Kruger was elected to the Spherix Incorporated Board of Directors in August 2007, and was also elected Chief Executive Officer and Director of Health Sciences at this time. Dr. Kruger received her Ph.D. in Toxicology from Albany Medical College, and her B.S. in Biology from Clarkson College. With more than 20 years of consulting experience, her primary areas of expertise are in foods, consumer products and pharmaceuticals, where she provides scientific, regulatory, and strategic support to clients in both the US and international regulatory arenas. Dr. Kruger has conducted toxicity evaluations of foods and food contaminants, as well as health risk assessments and exposure assessments of drugs, cosmetics, and pesticides. Her clients include food, drug, and dietary supplement manufacturers, agricultural producers, biotechnology companies, trade associations, and law firms. In her role as a consultant, Dr. Kruger has been involved in the safety evaluation of a variety of consumer products, providing oversight of product compliance with current and emerging scientific and regulatory guidance.
Dr. Gilbert V. Levin
Dr. Gilbert V. Levin founded Spherix Incorporated in 1967 and has served the Company in a variety of capacities since incorporation. He currently serves as Director of Science and Technology. Dr. Levin previously served in the public health departments of Maryland, California, and the District of Columbia and, subsequently, as a research scientist and corporate official. Among his inventions are low-caloric sweeteners; biological nutrient removal (BNR) for municipal wastewater, rapid detection and identification of microorganisms; and the Labeled Release life detection experiment that landed on Mars in 1976 aboard NASA’s Viking Mission. He holds a Bachelor’s, Master’s, and a Ph.D., all from The Johns Hopkins University, where he also served on its Board of Trustees and presently serves on its National Advisory Council for the Whiting School of Engineering.
Mr. Aris Melissaratos
Mr. Aris Melissaratos was elected to the Spherix Board of Directors in February 2008. He currently serves as Senior Advisor to the President of Johns Hopkins University with responsibilities for technology transfer, corporate partnerships, and enterprise development. From 2003 to 2007, he served as Secretary of Business and Economic Development for the State of Maryland, driving the state’s unemployment figures to an impressive 3.6% and positioning Maryland for leadership in the emerging “knowledge economy”. He worked for Westinghouse Electric Corporation for 32 years culminating as the corporation’s Chief Technology Officer and Vice President for Science and Technology, responsible for running Westinghouse’s research and development functions. He also served as the Chief Operations Officer for the company’s Defense Electronics Group, where he was responsible for managing 16,000 employees (9,000 engineers) and $3.2 billion dollars of sales. After Westinghouse, he became Vice President of Thermo Electron Corporation and CEO of its Coleman Research Corporation and Thermo Information Solutions subsidiaries. He formed Armel Scientifics, LLC which invested in over 30 start-up companies in Life Sciences and Advanced Technology. He holds a B.E.S. in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University, as Master of Science in engineering management from George Washington University, and has completed the program for Management Development at the Harvard University School of Business. He completed the course work for a Ph.D. in International Politics at the Catholic University of America but did not complete the dissertation.
Dr. Robert A. Lodder
Dr. Robert A. Lodder, Spherix Incorporated Board Member since 2005, was elected President in August 2007. He served as a Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky Medical Center, and holds joint appointments in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Division of Analytical Chemistry of the Department of Chemistry at Kentucky. Dr. Lodder received his B.S. degree cum laude in Natural Science and his M.S. in Chemistry in 1983 from Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio in 1981. He received his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry in 1988 from Indiana University. He was a founder of InfraReDx, Inc. in 1998 and Prescient Medical, Inc. in 2004. Neither of these companies are public, and they do not engage in business with Spherix.
Mr. Thomas B. Peter
Mr. Thomas B. Peter was elected to the Spherix Board of Directors in May 2009. He spent his entire 33-year career in the pharmaceutical industry. Most recently he served as a Regional Vice President for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Prior to that, Mr. Peter had significant experience dealing with managed care organizations, serving as Director of National Accounts Sales at GSK, and before that position, worked as a Group Marketing Director. Mr. Peter is a biology major graduate of Gettysburg College and a Master’s graduate of St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.
Dr. Robert J. Vander Zanden
Dr. Robert J. Vander Zanden, , Spherix Incorporated Board Member since 2004, having served in two Vice President positions with Kraft Foods International, brings a long and distinguished career in technical and business aspects of the food science industry to Spherix. Dr. Vander Zanden holds a Ph.D. in Food Science from Kansas State University, and an M.S. and B.S. in Chemistry, the latter from the University of Wisconsin – Platteville, where he was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 2002. In his 30-year career, he has been with ITT Baking Company as a Product Development Scientist, with Ralston Purina as Manager Dietary Foods R&D, with Keebler as Group Director, Product and Process Development, with Grupo Gamesa, a Frito-Lay Company, as Vice President, Technology, with Nabisco, as Vice President of R&D for their International Division and with the acquisition of Nabisco by Kraft Foods, he became the Vice President of R&D for Kraft’s Latin American Division. Dr. Vander Zanden retired from Kraft Foods in 2004. He currently holds the title Adjunct Professor and Lecturer, in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, where he teaches a course in New Product Development. His focus on achieving product and process innovation through training, team building and creating positive working environments has resulted in his being recognized with many awards for product and packaging innovation.