DURHAM, N.H. - Matthew Albuquerque, founder and president of Next Step Bionics and Prosthetics, will speak about "Prosthetics in the 21st Century" at the next meeting of the University of New Hampshire CEO Forum Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013, at 9 a.m. The program begins at 8 a.m. at the Derryfield Country Club, Manchester, with a full breakfast at 8:30 a.m.

Albuquerque, who has 25 years of experience as a practitioner in orthotics and prosthetics, will discuss technologies used to design, fabricate, and fit artificial limbs, and share how his company is changing people's lives. Next Step Bionics and Prosthetics fits amputees with artificial limbs tailored to individual needs.

In addition, Albuquerque works as a prosthetic consultant for inventor Dean Kamen and designed the interface for the DEKA Arm, a robotic arm intended to restore functionality for individuals with upper extremity amputations. He also specializes in pediatric orthotic and prosthetic care.

Albuquerque graduated from Stonehill College in North Easton, Mass., with a bachelor's in biology. He received his orthotic training at Rancho Las Amigos Medical Center through the University of California and prosthetic instruction at Northwestern University.

He lives in Bedford with his wife Kathleen and their sons Kyle and Dylan. He is a graduate of Leadership Greater Manchester and is former chair of the Easter Seals Veterans Count Advisory Board. He sits on the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery Board of Directors and is involved with the Wounded Warrior Project.

Upcoming speakers at the UNH CEO Forum include:

• Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014, James Teetzel, CEO, Wilcox Industries
• Thursday, March 13, 2014, Joseph Faro, CEO, Tuscan Brands
• Thursday, April 17, 2014, Gene Geiger, owner and CEO, The Geiger Group

Initiated in 1997, the UNH CEO Forum is an outreach program of the UNH Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics serving CEOs, presidents, and senior managers of companies in northern New England. The forum provides its members with opportunities to meet and exchange ideas with their peers in business and industry in an informal setting. The UNH CEO Forum is sponsored by the law firm of Pierce Atwood, Optima Bank and Trust, Sprague Operating Resources, and Crystalvision. For more information about the CEO Forum, visit http://www.unh-ceoforum.org/.

To register or become a member of the UNH CEO Forum, contact Barbara Draper at 603-862-1107, or barbara.draper@unh.edu. The event is free to members and $49 for first-time attendees.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,300 undergraduate and 2,200 graduate students.

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