AirShip Technologies Group

Ben Berry, CIO for Oregon Department of Transportation is also an inventor and visionary. Outside of his government roots, he is building a vehicle to compete in the Automotive X-Prize. The contest, modeled after the Space Plane X-Prize which was awarded to the team that, at its very basics, could build a vehicle that could take off, go outside Earth's atmosphere, and land safely. The Automotive X-Prize similarly challenges teams to build a car that can average over 100 Miles Per Gallon fuel efficiency or its equivalent in alternative fuels and be able to travel over 100 Miles Per Hour. Besides the excitement of the X-Prize, the more intriguing aspect to this effort is the model used to create the vehicle. Ben is using the Open Technology Innovation Model, (OTI), a model he is developing, takes concepts from the open source development community and applies them to manufacturing. Dispersed teams that share a common vision collaborate to create a solution that is better than the sum of its parts. The development of this ground transit vehicle is the first implementation of this model and may be used for future product development. Ben has formed AirShip Technologies Group, the consortium that uses farflung teams to build the vehicle, also called AirShip.

Mr. Ben Berry serves as ODOT’s Chief Information Officer providing overall leadership, planning, development, and delivery of information technology services for ODOT and several other non-transportation organizations. As the second largest State Agency in Oregon, he is responsible for systems supporting highways, bridges, rail service, right-of-way determinations, DMV and Motor Carrier Commercial Trucking inspections and licensing throughout the state. He is the former Chief Technology Officer of Providence Health System supporting the Oregon Service Area of 7 hospitals and 33 clinics. Mr. Berry has held executive and management positions in industries such as State and Local government, healthcare, telecommunications, aerospace/defense and airport transportation. He received his M.B.A. from UCLA and a B.S. in Life Science (bio-technology) from the University of Portland. He has 25+ years in computer software program management and operations, computer applications development and design, and systems development for public and private sectors both in the U.S.A. and the Middle-East.