Welcome Ping Fu and Dennis Bartels to the Burning Man Project Board

It’s time for a brief interlude of our favorite kind of news: welcoming amazing new people to the Board of Directors of Burning Man Project!

Ping Fu is a computer scientist, author, and Inc. magazine’s 2005 Entrepreneur of the Year. She co-founded Geomagic, a software company that makes 3D technologies that have revolutionized the design and manufacture of products. Geomagic was acquired by 3D Systems in 2013. Oh, also, she immigrated to the U.S. after a childhood of brutality and repression in China. Her book, Bend, Not Break: A Life in Two Words, chronicles this transformative journey.

Ping promotes leadership for women in business, mathematics and science. She’s a true global citizen who can and will represent Burning Man all around the world.

You don’t have to take our word for it. Here’s Ping telling her own story in an interview with Forbes:

Ping is one of the people who gave a gift to support Burning Man Project’s purchase of Fly Ranch. Ping’s first Burn was in 2010, and she was lucky enough to visit Fly Ranch while she was out there. The stark contrast between the hot, dry playa and the nourishing waters of Fly stuck with her for a long time. Both were powerful, but in different ways. You should really read her meditation on that experience in the Huffington Post; it’s a beautiful reflection. Now she’s joining the Board to take her involvement with the future of Burning Man to the next level. “I am excited about working with founders and other board members on the sustainability of Burning Man Project,” Ping says. “I’m looking forward to being part of the unfolding, ever-changing stories being written by Burners.”

Dennis M. Bartels, PhD is an expert in science education and policy. For 10 years, he was Executive Director at the hallowed Exploratorium, a public learning laboratory in San Francisco. He’s worked in government and education, and he’s currently a partner in the Future Food Center (FFC) on Treasure Island in San Francisco.

Dennis and his wife Suzi have been aware of the Burning Man phenomenon since the very first beach burns in the ’80s but didn’t quite make it out there. While working at the Exploratorium, he couldn’t help but notice how many staffers kept disappearing for a little while at the end of August — and how many weird art projects were being built in the Exploratorium workshops during the summer months. The inexorable force of gravity drew them to the playa in 2008, and they’ve been hooked ever since. He looks forward to contributing his experience with eye-opening institutions that make extraordinary things happen to the ongoing project that is Burning Man.

“My dream is that Burning Man is seen and known by all as a 365 day a year project, where the principles are applied directly in communities, and with community, to make extraordinary things happen.” Dennis says. “What’s happening in Ireland, Reno, even San Francisco and elsewhere only hints at all the possibilities of changing lives and minds, and how we individually and collectively ‘see’ the world.”

To see Dennis’s mind in action, you have to see this interview from the National Science Foundation about the Exploratorium:

Welcome aboard, Ping and Dennis! We’re lucky to have you.

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3 Comments on “Welcome Ping Fu and Dennis Bartels to the Burning Man Project Board

  • Nickster says:

    Woot Woot – Congrats Burning Man – Dennis is an awesome addition to the team and no doubt Ping will be too!!!

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  • Meghan Rutigliano says:

    Welcome aboard, Ping and Dennis! Looking forward to getting to know each of you better over the exciting years ahead!

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  • Diddo says:

    Let’s see one dot-com multi-millionaire and the other… hmm, is Dennis’ wife rich? Otherwise, it doesn’t really make sense. I thought BM had a minimum net-worth requirement to be part of the board…

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