Michael Tomczyk is Managing Director of the Mack Center for Technological Innovation at The Wharton School, which he joined in 1995. He is a member of the Mack Center "Core Group" that guides the agenda of the Center, and serves on the program leadership of the Center's BioSciences Crossroads Initiative. He has been called a "technology futurist" for his contributions in the field of technological innovation, both in business and academia.

At the Wharton School, he conceived and organizes the annual Emerging Technologies Update Day, a unique event that showcases emerging technologies that are looming on the near horizon.

His research interests include emerging technologies, radical (disruptive) innovation, technology forecasting, biosciences, electronic commerce and "out of the box" strategies for product management and marketing.

He joined Wharton in 1995 as Managing Director of the Emerging Technologies Management Research Program and became Managing Director of the Mack Center in 2005. In this capacity, he works closely with senior faculty and researchers to guide the program, and serves as primary liaison to industry partners including market leaders in many industries. Michael prepares all of the Mack Center's printed research reports and conference summaries; and edits the center's newsletter and website.

Michael originated and hosts the annual Emerging Technologies Update Day, showcasing innovations looming on the near horizon that have the potential to change industries, strategies and markets. Technologies presented at this event have included hydrogen fuel cells, DNA identification, personalized medicine, biometrics, solid state lighting, space travel, tidal turbines, proteomics, NASA space projects, cars of the future...to name a few.

He participates as an advisor on international grants and awards including the Wharton-Infosys Business Transformation Award, recognizing achievements by individuals and organizations in business and technology.

In 2002, he helped organize the BioSciences Crossroads Initiative, which provides strategic insights to firms that are developing, deploying and/or commercializing life science technologies (genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics, stem cells, etc.).  In 2005-06 he served on the International Advisory Committee of the industry organization, BIO.

He is co-editor (with Paul Schoemaker - pictured left) of The Future of BioSciences: Four Scenarios for 2020 and Their Implications for Human Healthcare published in May 2006. This 130-page report is part of a long-term project to identify and monitor key factors that will impact commercialization of emerging life science technologies through 2020 and beyond.

Michael's interests in biosciences date back to 1996 when he co-authored a white paper entitled "Obstacles to Commercialization of Gene Therapy" (published in Nature Biotechnology as "Critical Issues in Gene Therapy Commercialization", July 1997).

In Fall 2007 he was appointed to the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine's Commercialization Core, an activity of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, partly supported by a Clinical Translational Science Award from the NIH.

Michael has been involved in emerging technologies for most of his career: as a corporate executive, management consultant, entrepreneur, and research program director.

He is best known for his role in the design, management and launch of the first Commodore home computers in the 1980s and has been called the "marketing father" of the home computer. He joined Commodore as assistant to the president and marketing strategist, and quickly became an early champion of home computing.

As international product manager for the Commodore VIC-20, he helped design and launch the first microcomputer to sell over one million units, and managed the teams responsible for Commodore's best-selling game software, hardware accessories and packaging/promotion. He conceived and co-designed the first affordable direct connect modem (VICModem), and pioneered the Commodore Information Network, an early precursor to the Internet that became the largest CompuServe community site in 1982. He helped develop the strategy that took the first home computers into mass market channels such as K-Mart, and worked with international counterparts in 21 countries to position Commodore products internationally. During his tenure at Commodore, the company's annual revenues rose from $125 million to over $1 billion.. His experiences are recounted in his best-selling 1985 memoir, The Home Computer Wars.

During the 1990s, he helped companies transition to electronic commerce and provided guidance to numerous firms involved in launching new digital technologies (Chilton Publishing, GlaxoSmithKline, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola). He has been a board member and/or advisor to a succession of successful technology startups in the Delaware Valley including: Group Cortex, Bilenniatech, NetXentry, Parallel Computers Technology (PCTI) and VI Labs. He occasionally advises firms on new technology products and strategies. He has advised U.S. government agencies on a variety of projects including a major report predicting technology trends, reviews of government technology grants, and security-related initiatives.

Earlier in his career he was involved in the launch of such pioneering technologies as Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) and CT Scanning.

During 2006-2007, Michael was a keynote speaker at three Frost & Sullivan's industry outlook conferences; and the IPC Executive Market & Technology Forum (Electronics Industry). His presentation topics have included: "Technology Time Travel: Predicting and Developing Radical Innovations," "Deal Or No Deal: Creative Strategies For Assessing Technology Growth Opportunities," and "Connecting With the Future: Emerging Technologies, Strategies and Opportunities." At Wharton, he presented "Scientific Breakthroughs That Will Change the World" at the Wharton Fellows Program and LinKS program.

Michael started his career as a journalist in college. He has been a magazine and newspaper columnist; a commentator on National Public Radio (Marketplace); and appeared on various television shows such as The Today Show. He has written more than 150 business articles, including magazine and newspaper columns, on a broad range of topics. A few examples include:

During 1970-1973, Michael was an officer in the U.S. Army (highest rank, captain). He served as an airborne officer with the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, NC; spent more than a year in Vietnam with the lst Signal Corps; and served in Korea with USASTRATCOM and the United Nations command. He was awarded the Bronze Star and Army Commendation medals for his Vietnam service. He received his commission through Army ROTC where he was a Distinguished Military Student.

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). (International Marketing)

University of Wisconsin (Literature, Journalism & Spanish - Recipient, Distinguished Alumni Award)

Currently enrolled in the Environmental Studies Graduate Program at the University of Pennsylvania, studying and researching technology solutions to environmental issues.