At our annual MIT Startup Ecosystem Conference, we celebrate innovation and bring together its many contributors: entrepreneurs, corporates, and university researchers, as well as government representatives, investors, and those involved with incubators and accelerators. We will assemble to discuss creating, supporting, and scaling new ventures and how to increase productivity and competitive advantage. Aligned with the emphasis of MIT Startup Exchange, we will focus on the startup-corporate relationship. Topics will include pain points, valleys of death, and strategies to avoid as well as how to overcome the stones found along the way.
As always, this event features executives from some of the most promising startups connected to MIT who will present lightning talks in two fast-paced sessions, each followed by an opportunity to have direct discussions.
Many consider this conference a must-attend for innovators and executives at industry-leading corporations, especially those working in innovation, emerging technology, corporate venture capital, and/or corporate development/strategy.
John Roberts has been Executive Director of MIT Corporate Relations (Interim) since February 2022. He obtained his Ph.D. in organic chemistry at MIT and returned to the university after a 20-year career in the pharmaceutical industry, joining the MIT Industrial Liaison Program (ILP) in 2013. Prior to his return, John worked at small, medium, and large companies, holding positions that allowed him to exploit his passions in synthetic chemistry, project leadership, and alliance management while growing his responsibilities for managing others, ultimately as a department head. As a program director at MIT, John built a portfolio of ILP member companies, mostly in the pharmaceutical industry and headquartered in Japan, connecting them to engagement opportunities in the MIT community. Soon after returning to MIT, John began to lead a group of program directors with a combined portfolio of 60-80 global companies. In his current role, John oversees MIT Corporate Relations which houses ILP and MIT Startup Exchange.
Program Director, MIT Startup Exchange
Catarina Madeira joined Corporate Relations in May 2021 as Program Director, Startup Exchange.
Madeira has been working with the Cambridge/Boston startup ecosystem for the past 10 years and joins Corporate Relations with a solid network in the innovation and entrepreneurial community. In 2010, she joined the startup accelerator IUL MIT Portugal working in Lisbon and working with the Cambridge team on all aspects related to the accelerator’s launch. She held positions including Operations Coordinator, Program Manager, and Business Developer. The accelerator soon achieved steady growth in large part due to the partnerships that Catarina led with regional and global startup ecosystems. Most recently she worked at NECEC, leading a program that connects cleantech startups and industry. In this role, she developed and built a pipeline of startups and forged strong relationships with both domestic and European companies. She has also held positions in Portugal and France including at L’Oréal and Saboaria e Perfumaria Confiança as Pharmacist and Technical Director.
Madeira earned her Bachelor in Chemistry at the University of Porto and her Bachelor in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Coimbra in Portugal. She went on to earn her Master of Engineering for Health and Medicines at University Lyon 1 and EM Lyon in France.
Director, MIT Washington DC Office
David Goldston became Director of the MIT Washington Office in May 2017. The Washington Office is MIT’s “embassy,” providing policymakers with information and positions from MIT, and keeping the campus abreast of relevant developments in the nation's capital. As director, Goldston helps shape MIT’s policy and positions, and its communications regarding federal matters.
Prior to coming to MIT, Goldston was Director of Government Affairs at the Natural Resources Defense Council, a leading environmental group for eight years, where he helped shape NRDC’s federal political strategy, policies, and communications. Before his time at the NRDC he spent more than 20 years on Capitol Hill, working primarily on science and environmental policy, including serving as Chief of Staff of the House Committee on Science from 2001 through 2006.
After retiring from government service, Goldston was a visiting lecturer at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and at Harvard University Center for the Environment. He is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. From 2007 through November 2009, he wrote a monthly column for Nature on science policy titled, “Party of One.” Goldston also was the project director for the Bipartisan Policy Center report: “Improving the Use of Science in Regulatory Policy,” which was released in August 2009. He authored a chapter in The Science of Science Policy: A Handbook (Stanford University Press, 2011). He is a member of the advisory committee for the National Academies’ Climate Communications Initiative, and has served on numerous panels of the Academy and other science policy organizations. He holds a B.A. (1978) from Cornell University and completed the course work for a Ph.D. in American history at the University of Pennsylvania.
David Goldston will discuss how recent and upcoming policy decisions by the executive branch and Congress may affect the environment for start-ups.
Vice President, Global Expansion And Corporate Development, CIC
Sarah leads CIC’s expansion to new cities to build innovation infrastructure -- both programmatic and physical. Since the inception of CIC’s expansion efforts as a two-person task force in 2012, Sarah has built and led the team that designs the strategy, development, and financing of expansion to new markets. Working closely with public and private stakeholders in each city, Sarah’s team has launched 1.1 million square feet across centers in 9 cities around the globe, including three with wet laboratory facilities.
Clean Energy & Fusion Venture Builder, Proto Ventures
David Cohen-Tanugi is the Clean Energy & Fusion Venture Builder in MIT's venture studio, Proto Ventures. An entrepreneur and scientist, David has more than a decade of experience at the intersection of technology, clean energy, and entrepreneurship. Most recently, he led the automation team at OhmConnect, a Series D energy startup. Prior to that, David co-founded Embr Labs, a wearable technology startup that originated in MIT's MADMEC competition. David completed his PhD in computational materials science at MIT and is a recipient of the Forbes 30 Under 30 and MIT Tech Review Innovators Under 35 (France) awards.
Vice President of Product & Programs, NewLab
Shaina Horowitzis Vice President of Product & Programs at Newlab, a singular community of experts and innovators applying transformative technology to help solve the world’s biggest challenges. Based in the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York City and at Michigan Central in Detroit, Newlab provides the tools and community that unite and support 800+ entrepreneurs, engineers, and inventors representing over 200 companies in a variety of fields—including robotics, A.I., urban technology, and energy—and fosters collaboration and advancement across disciplines. In her role, Shaina guides the strategy, development and implementation of Newlab's applied innovation model which bring together Fortune 500 companies, civic leaders, domain experts and entrepreneurs to identify challenges, design and pilot solutions, and invest in outcomes that catalyze growth and help to move companies, industries and cities into a future state. Shaina brings 12+ years of experience working at the intersection of cities, technology and innovation to her role at Newlab. Prior to joining Newlab, Shaina was a founding member of Bloomberg Associates, a first of its kind civic consultancy established by Michael R. Bloomberg to advise mayors in cities including London, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Athens, Los Angeles and Oakland. Previously Shaina worked at the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment under Mayor Bloomberg where she was part of the team who appointed New York City’s first Chief Digital Officer, published New York City’s Digital Roadmap and created the ‘Made in NY’ campaign. Shaina holds an honors BA in Media Studies from Vassar College and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York. She's worked with cultural institutions and galleries including Creative Time and the Studio Museum in Harlem, Umelec Magazine based in Prague and Axis Gallery, an initiative to bring the work of contemporary South African artists to the United States. These experiences have informed her passion and belief in the power of media, art and technology to drive innovation and social change.
Chief Commercialization Office, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
Dr. Vanessa Z. Chanis the Chief Commercialization Officer for the Department of Energy and Director of the Office of Technology Transitions. In this role she is responsible for driving private sector uptake of clean energy technologies as the steward of commercialization activities across DOE, the 17 National Laboratories, and the Department’s other research and production facilities across the country.Dr. Chan is an innovator who has worked across a wide range of ecosystems, from academia to Fortune 1000 companies to startups. She has two decades of experience helping organizations grow at the interface of technology and business, across a diverse setof industries.Chan is currently on a leave of absence from her position as Undergraduate Chair of the Materials Science & Engineering department and the Jonathan and Linda Brassington Professor of Practice in Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. At Penn she was redesigning how engineers are being educated by formally incorporating real world skills (understanding of supply chains & ecosystems, presentation skills, etc.) to better prepare her students to have an impact when they graduate. She is a former McKinsey & Company partner, experienced Venture Board Director for Vanguard and United Technology Corporation, and a board member at multiple startups. Chan was the first woman and the first East Asian elected partner in McKinsey’s North American Chemicals practice. She is a nationally respected educator who is the first Practice Professor at Penn’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, awarded an endowed scholarly chair.Chan earned her Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her B.S.E. in Materials Science & Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
Throughout their life cycle startups go through many ups and downs. How are they nurtured to overcome obstacles and become companies that can transform industries? What resources does the ecosystem offer to support entrepreneurs? This panel brings together four startup support key players representing academia, federal and private organizations, each one providing resources that are essential to early-stage tech startups. Panelists will provide perspectives on how they help build startups, how they collaborate supporting entrepreneurs, and how corporates can get involved. Attendees will get the opportunity to learn skills and lessons they can apply to their own external innovation programs.
Executive Director (Interim), MIT Corporate Relations
Co-Founder & Chairman of @Formlabs Co-Founder & CEO, Tulip
Natan Linder is co-founder and CEO of manufacturing technology company, Tulip, and co-founder and chairman of Formlabs, the pioneer and industry leader in professional desktop 3D printing. Drawing from over 15 years of experience and accomplished careers at companies like Samsung, Sun Microsystems, and Rethink Robotics, Linder holds a depth of expertise in computer science, product design, and entrepreneurship. Prior to starting Tulip and Formlabs, Linder was co-founder and general manager of Samsung Electronics’ R&D Center in Israel, spearheading the group’s innovation efforts in mobile and shipping multiple products to the global market. He’s served as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Jerusalem Venture Partners, the leading Israeli venture capital firm. Linder holds a PhD from MIT Media Lab’s Fluid Interfaces Group and a S.M. in Media Arts and Sciences from MIT. Linder’s work aims to fuse design and engineering to create novel human experiences.
As startups grow, founders have to decide if and when/how to expand to the global market. A decision that brings new challenges. If implemented, it will reshape the company at all levels – culture, mindset, team dynamic, strategy, product, positioning, etc. Corporate organizations can play a decisive role in this process while potentially gaining a significant competitive advantage. This panel brings together the startup Tulip, today present in four countries with an ILP corporate member, L’Oréal, that has a global footprint. Panelists will engage in a candid conversation about growth strategy and the resources that can catalyze it, as well as collaboration towards higher impact. This panel aims to keep building on the morning session “Supporting New Ventures. The Ecosystem Role” by providing additional insights to both entrepreneurs and corporates planning and/or running their own startup engagement activities.
Director of Open Innovation, L’Oreal
Dr. Seyma Aslan is the Director of Open Innovation at L’Oréal Research & Innovation Laboratories. She received her PhD, Masters of Science, Masters of Philosophy, and Postdoctoral Training from Yale University and a bachelor of science degree from Drexel University in Chemical Engineering. Prior to joining L’Oreal, she had worked at large international companies including DuPont, Sunoco, and Saint-Gobain. She is the founder of Product Development and Innovation Program in Engineering School at Yale University. In addition to her scholarly activities and leadership, she serves in various non-profit organizations including “Well Spring Educational Foundation”, “Society of Women Engineers” and was the recipient of “Community Service Award” from both Yale Univ. and Harvard Univ. for her work in advancement of women in education. She serves on the board of trustees at YaleWomen, Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom and Peace Islands Institute NY. She lives in New Jersey, US with her husband and daughter.
As startups grow, founders have to decide if and when to expand to the global market. This decision brings new challenges, and if implemented, will reshape the company at all levels – culture, mindset, team dynamic, strategy, product, positioning, etc. Corporate organizations can play a decisive role in this process while potentially gaining a significant competitive advantage. This panel brings together the startup Tulip, which is present in four countries with ILP corporate member, L’Oréal. Panelists will engage in a candid conversation about growth strategy and the resources that can catalyze it, as well as collaboration towards higher impact. This panel aims to build on the morning session “Supporting New Ventures. The Ecosystem Role”, by providing additional insights to both entrepreneurs and corporates planning and/or running their own startup engagement activities.
Program Manager, MIT Startup Exchange
Ariadna Rodenstein is a Program Manager at MIT Startup Exchange. She joined MIT Corporate Relations as an Events Leader in September 2019 and is responsible for designing and executing startup events, including content development, coaching and hosting, and logistics. Ms. Rodenstein works closely with the Industrial Liaison Program (ILP) in promoting collaboration and partnerships between MIT-connected startups and industry, as well as with other areas around the MIT innovation ecosystem and beyond.
Prior to working for MIT Corporate Relations, she worked for over a decade at Credit Suisse Group in New York and London, in a few different roles in event management and as Director of Client Strategy. Ms. Rodenstein has combined her experience in the private sector with work at non-profits as a Consultant and Development Director at New York Immigration Coalition, Immigrant Defense Project, and Americas Society/Council of the Americas. She also served as an Officer on the Board of Directors of the Riverside Clay Tennis Association in New York for several years. Additionally, she earned her B.A. in Political Science and Communications from New York University, with coursework at the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in Mexico City, and her M.A. in Sociology from the City University of New York.
Co-Founder & VP of Engineering, Osmoses
Dr. Katherine Mizrahi Rodriguez is Co-founder and Vice President of Engineering at Osmoses. She is also a Kavanaugh Postdoctoral Fellow for translational innovation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Katherine earned her Ph.D. in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) at MIT through the program in Polymers and Soft Matter and received her B.S. also from MIT MSE. She has been recognized with several fellowships and awards including the NSF Graduate Research fellowship, the Ford Foundation Pre-doctoral fellowship, the MIT Ida M. Green fellowship, and the GEM Consortium fellowship. At Osmoses, Katherine manages the engineering and business team, with a focus on commercializing customer-focused membrane separation solutions leveraging process design.
Co-Founder and VP of Operations, AeroShield
Aaron Baskerville-Bridges is Co-Founder & VP Operations of AeroShield Materials in Hyde Park, MA. AeroShield is a seed-stage MIT spinout developing super-insulating, transparent aerogels for windows, with the goal of bringing state-of-the-art energy efficiency into buildings at an affordable price. Aaron completed his SM in Chemical Engineering and MBA as part of the MIT Leaders For Global Operations program. At AeroShield, Aaron wears many hats – helping specify and source equipment, working with potential industry partners, technical recruiting, and marketing. He is passionate about the potential to use new materials to reduce global CO2 emissions while also saving homeowners money. Prior to MIT, Aaron worked at the Boston Consulting Group as a management consultant supporting operational improvement projects in the energy sector, supply chain optimization, and private equity due diligence work.
Co-Founder & CTO, Copernic Catalysts
Aruna Ramkrishnan is CTO and Co-founder of Copernic Catalysts, a clean-tech startup on a mission to decarbonize industrial chemicals for gigaton scale carbon impact. She has over a decade of academic and corporate experience in chemical engineering R&D. Over her career in the Energy and Chemicals industries (Linde, ExxonMobil), she led the development of emissions mitigation technologies like biofuels, low-carbon hydrogen and carbon capture. Most recently, she served as Strategy & Planning Advisor to the Global VP of Research at ExxonMobil. She has authored fifteen patents in the fields of sustainable materials and processes and holds a B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and a Ph.D in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.
Director of Product Development, Mantel
Ralph Wiser is the Director of Product Development at Mantel. He earned his PhD in nuclear engineering at MIT, where he specialized in computational fluid dynamics and heat transfer analysis of molten salt fluid systems. Before joining Mantel, he worked as an engineer at the nuclear startup TerraPower, and he worked in the research office of The Engine. Ralph also co-founded a nuclear reactor startup which focuses on driving down nuclear plant construction costs.
Co-Founder and CSO, Decoy Therapeutics
Barbara brings 25 years of leadership experience in pharma and biotech to bear on new drug discovery. During her time at Bayer Pharma she helped establish a new oncology department, and served as project leader for sorafenib, approved for kidney and liver cancers. Successive leadership positions at Chiron, Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Takeda consolidated a very broad-based expertise in advancing large and small molecule projects to and through clinical trials. Barb has deep experience on clinical development teams and a solid understanding of what it takes to get a drug approved. Over her career Barb has built a host of teams, from large departments to small specialty groups, and now as a co-founder of the infectious disease startup Decoy Therapeutics. Barb is passionate about bringing a new anti-viral therapeutic peptide platform to bear on COVID-19 and future emerging and re-emerging viral pathogens.
Co-Founder & CEO, DxLab
Ho-Jun completed his Medical Engineering/Medical Physics Ph. D. in the Harvard/MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, working on robotic technologies for automated patch clamp recordings in vivo. He received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Cornell and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign respectively. Now he works on novel treatment strategies for Alzheimer’s disease, working between the labs of Professor Li-Huei Tsai and Professor Ed Boyden, as a postdoctoral scholar.
Co-Founder & CEO, Kano Therapeutics
Floris Engelhardt is CEO of Kano Therapeutics which she co-founded with her former PostDoc advisor Prof. Mark Bathe (MIT). She holds a bachelor’s degree in Biochemisty and Molecular Biology from the Friedich-Schiller University in Jena, a master’s degree in Molecular Biotechnology and a Doctoral Degree in Physics from the Technical University of Munich. Her work has been focused on single-stranded DNA production and Nucleic Acid Nanostructures for gene and cell therapy.
Co-Founder & CEO, Stratagen Bio
Greg Ekchian, PhD, is an entrepreneur, engineer, and innovator. He has spent his career at the interface of academic research and life science start-ups. Greg is currently the co-founder and CEO of Stratagen Bio, where he is developing a suite of novel tissue oxygen sensors and treatment planning software to personalize and customize treatments across a wide range of clinical indications. He was previously awarded the Blavatnik Fellowship in Life Science Entrepreneurship at Harvard Business School and the Kavanaugh Translational Innovation Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Greg was also named to MIT Technology Review’s 35 Innovators Under 35 in 2020. He holds a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University and an MEng and PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Managing Director of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship and the Ethernet Inventors Professor of the Practice, MIT Sloan School of Management
Bill Aulet is changing the way entrepreneurship is understood, taught, and practiced around the world. He is an award-winning educator and author whose current work is built off the foundation of his 25-year successful business career, first at IBM, and then as a three-time serial entrepreneur. During this time, he directly raised over a hundred million dollars and, more importantly, created hundreds of millions of dollars of shareholder value through his companies.Since 2009, Bill has been responsible for leading the development of entrepreneurship education across MIT at the Trust Center. His first book, “Disciplined Entrepreneurship,” was released in August 2013, has been translated into over 20 languages, and has been the content for three online edX courses, which have been taken by hundreds of thousands of people in 200 different countries. The accompanying follow on book, “Disciplined Entrepreneurship Workbook,” was released in April 2017.He has widely published in places such as the Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, the Boston Globe, the Sloan Management Review, the Kauffman Foundation, Entrepreneur Magazine, MIT Sloan Experts, and more. He has been a featured speaker on shows such as CNBC’s Squawk Box, BBC News, Bloomberg News, as well as at events and conferences around the world. He has degrees from Harvard and MIT and is a board member of MITEK Systems (NASDAQ: MITK) and XL Hybrids Inc.(privately held) as well as a visiting professor at University of Strathclyde (Scotland).On July 1, 2017, Bill was named a Professor of the Practice at MIT Sloan, the first at the school in the area of entrepreneurship since Alex d’Arbeloff received the designation in 2003. Bill has earned external recognition as well for his efforts, which include Boston 50 on Fire, 2017 Favorite MBA Professors from Poets and Quants, and 2018 Nannerl Keohane Distinguished Visiting Professorship at the University of NorthCarolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University. In 2019, Bill was awarded the Outstanding Contributions to Advancing Innovation and Entrepreneurship Award by the Deshpande Foundation. In 2021, Bill was recognized by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) as the 2021 Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year.Disciplined Entrepreneurship has been translated to versions in Arabic, Audio (via Audible), Chinese Orthodox, Chinese Simplified, Croatian, Danish, German, Greek, Farsi, Japanese, Korean (where it was named one of the top Economics & Business books of 2014 by the prestigious Kyobo Book Store), Mongolian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese. It has been a best seller in many countries including Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. It has also been the basis of a series of highly successful MIT edX online classes Entrepreneurship 101, Entrepreneurship 102 and Entrepreneurship 103 as well as the MIT Global Entrepreneurship Bootcamps which have been held at different locations including MIT, Seoul (South Korea) and Brisbane (Australia). He has also led the design and delivery of two other online edX courses, “Cultivating Entrepreneurship & Antifragility to Thrive in a Fast-Paced World” and “Fundamentals of Entrepreneurial Finance: What Every Entrepreneur Should Know”.
Entrepreneurship is the new cool thing, but what exactly is it? Can it be taught? What is the past, present and future of entrepreneurship? In this session the award winning author and entrepreneurship educator will explore these topics and explain why everyone should seek to be more entrepreneurial and why entrepreneurs must exist in much more than just startups. Entrepreneurial mind set, skill set and way of operating will need to become ubiquitous as the pace of change in the world inexorably get faster and faster. We will also explain how this goal can be achieved.
Faculty Director, Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship David Sarnoff Professor of Management of Technology, MIT Sloan School of Management
Scott Stern explores how innovation and entrepreneurship differ from more traditional economic activities, and the consequences of these differences for strategy and policy. His research in the economics of innovation and entrepreneurship focuses on entrepreneurial strategy, innovation-driven entrepreneurial ecosystems, and innovation policy and management. Recent studies include the impact of clusters on entrepreneurship, the role of institutions in shaping the accumulation of scientific and technical knowledge, and the drivers and consequences of entrepreneurial strategy.
Stern has worked widely with practitioners in bridging the gap between academic research and the practice of innovation and entrepreneurship. This includes advising start-ups and other growth firms in the area of entrepreneurial strategy, as well as working with governments and other stakeholders on policy issues related to competitiveness and regional performance. In recent years, Stern has developed a popular new MIT Sloan elective, Entrepreneurial Strategy, co-founded the MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program, advised the development of the Social Progress Index, and served as the lead MIT investigator on the US Cluster Mapping Project.
Stern started his career at MIT, where he taught from 1995 to 2001. Before returning to MIT in 2009, he held positions as a Professor at the Kellogg School of Management and as a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Stern is the director and co-founder of the Innovation Policy Working Group at the National Bureau of Economic Research. In 2005, he was awarded the Kauffman Prize Medal for Distinguished Research in Entrepreneurship.
Stern holds a BA in economics from New York University and a PhD in economics from Stanford University.
Head of Strategy & Operations, Center for External Innovation, Takeda Pharmaceuticals
Alison is the Head of Strategy and Operations for Takeda’s Center for External Innovation, an integrated R&D Business Development and Strategic Venture group. Alison has been at Takeda for 16 years in roles spanning Medical Affairs, Clinical Development and Portfolio Strategy. Prior to Takeda, Alison worked in Medical Affairs at Bristol Myers Squibb. Alison received a B.S. in Biology at Yale University, Doctorate in Physiology from Penn State University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Joslin Diabetes Center and Harvard Medical School.
Manager of Partnerships & Engagement, MIT Startup Exchange
Tricia Dinkel comes to Corporate Relations with several years of experience in the innovation ecosystem and managing relationships with startups and corporates. Tricia previously worked as Director of Navigate (NECEC’s flagship innovation program) at the Northeast Clean Energy Council (NECEC) in Boston where she led all operations and partnership development for 400+ startups, 65+ innovation partners, and 200+ investors & corporates in North America and Europe. Prior to that role, Tricia held positions with increasing responsibility in program management at NECEC. Before that, her experience included Director of Data Analytics and Sustainability Reporting Manager at WegoWise Inc. in Boston, Associate Director at the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation in Cambridge, Senior Sustainability Coordinator at A Better City in Boston, and Assistant Director at The Green Alliance in Portsmouth, NH.
Tricia earned her B.A., Environmental Studies/Natural Resource Policy at the University of Colorado, and her M.A., Environmental Science Education at the University of New Hampshire. She served on the NECEC Diversity & Inclusion Committee and as a member of the USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council), Massachusetts Chapter.
Co-founder and CEO, AirWorks
David has worked in the aerospace industry for 10+ years. In the past, he led multiple teams at Airbus. As CEO, David is the driving force behind the development of AirWorks’ AI, with the goal of advancing the use of aerial intelligence across AEC. Born at MIT, inspired by the advances in aerial data acquisition and the potential power of AI, AirWorks was founded by David Morczinek and Adam Kersnowski in August 2017. Their complementary backgrounds in aerospace engineering, drones, and, construction led to a combined desire to harness the power of technology to automate a traditionally time-consuming aerial data processing approach. Headquartered in Boston, AirWorks employs a team of unmatched AI experts, software developers, sales experts, marketers, geographers, and civil engineers all working together to redefine the future of mapping for the built world. David holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Business and an MS in Aircraft Systems Engineering from the Technical University of Hamburg. In his free time, David enjoys traveling with his wife and two children.
Founder, Lamarr
Norhan is a Post Doctoral Fellow at MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative and Research Assistant in the Urban Metabolism group. She received her BSc. In Architecture from Cairo University, MSc in Building Technology from MIT in 2017 and Ph.D from the same program in 2021. Norhan‘s research is focused on the role of AI in addressing Climate change challenges in cities. In 2021, Norhan co-founded Lamarr.AI with Tarek Rakha and John E. Fernandez, which is spin off from a research collaboration between Georgia Tech and MIT and funded by the US. Department of Energy. Lamarr.AI fuses AI with building science to develop solutions for improving the performance of the built environment.
CEO, HomeRun IQ
Marc is the founder and CEO of HomeRun IQ, which delivers cloud-based financial tools for multi-unit properties and their provider partners. These data-powered tools improve property financials, reduce total costs, and mitigate risk.
Marc is a recognized industry thought leader. He is a select member of the Community Association Institute (CAI) Foundation Think Tank, which has been published in journals and presented to national audiences. Most recently, he was part of the Surfside industry task force shaping new policies and legislation.
Marc is a seasoned Silicon Valley executive delivering innovative solutions in complex markets for over 20 years across industry-leading companies. Marc holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan.
Founder and CEO, serviceMob
Anuj Bhalla is an entrepreneur, data scientist, MIT Sloan Fellow, and blue-chip consultant with more than 15 years of experience consulting the customer service industry. Anuj led the Service Analytics practice at Accenture where he worked with some of the largest companies in the world. Being a graduate of UC Berkeley with a Bachelor's in Applied Mathematics, Anuj is a data scientist and mathematician at heart. Before founding serviceMob, Anuj graduated from MIT Sloan with an MBA as a Sloan Fellow, with an emphasis on Innovation & Entrepreneurship and Data Analytics. Anuj was featured in Entrepreneur magazine, Forbes, and was recognized by top-tier programs and accelerators such as MIT STEX25, Stanford StartX, and Mucker Lab. Anuj brings his decades of industry and technology experience to serviceMob where he is redefining the world of customer service and is making all of our service experiences better as a result.
Founder & CEO, Claira
Katie is the Founder and CEO of Claira, a competency analytics platform helping companies understand their workforce and hire better. Before starting Claira, Katie spent 10 years in global workforce development, where it became clear that customers and the market were ready for a more precise, inclusive future of work. Katie regularly speaks and writes on a variety of topics including diversity hiring, ai ethics, and automation impact on the workforce.
Previously, Katie worked for the United States Attorney’s Office, Department of Justice, Executive Office of the President, The White House and the State of Michigan. She holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management and an MPA from the University of Michigan, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and a BA in Political Science from Hope College. She also played and coached volleyball for 20 years.
Founder & CEO, Engora
David Anderson has a Bachelors in Mechanical and Ocean Engineering from MIT and a PhD in Design Automation from the Singapore University of Technology and Design. He's worked in robotics and aerospace, focusing on eliminating manual engineering work through the use of custom software. During his postdoctoral research on AI for inverse design, he launched Engora, with the goal of solving supply chain problems through the use of machine learning to automate the product search process.
Co-Founder & CTO, Manus Robotics
Dr. Faye Wu (S.B. '09, S.M. '12, Ph.D. '17) is the CTO and a co-founder of Manus Robotics, a wearable technology startup dedicated to improving human capabilities. While at MIT, Faye researched medical device design, instrumentation, robotics control, and machine learning. The team she led, developing a device to help those with macular degeneration, was selected as a winner of the IDEAS Global Challenge and a finalist of the World Technology Awards. She also invented the Supernumerary Robotic Fingers, a wrist-mounted robot that assists hemiplegic patients with activities of daily living, which prompted the founding of Manus Robotics. Besides overseeing the R&D efforts at Manus, Faye has led the team to win various awards and recognitions, including receiving an NSF Small Business Innovation Research grant and being selected as a finalist of the 2021 MassChallenge Houston cohort.
Chief Strategy Officer, VitaKey
Andrea Stamp is the Chief Strategy Officer for VitaKey. Ms Stamp has over 20 years of experience managing companies, business development, regulatory, clinical trials, IP, finance, and technical teams. Ms. Stamp completed a BS and an MS in Biomedical Engineering and an MBA at Boston University.
Founding CEO and Managing Partner, The Engine
Katie Rae is the founding CEO & Managing Partner of The Engine, a venture capital firm spun out of MIT with more than $670M assets under management. The Engine invests in early- stage companies solving the world’s biggest problems through the convergence of breakthrough science, engineering and leadership. She has served in this role since March 2017. Katie serves as a Board Member at Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Form Energy, Via Separations, Lilac Solutions, Boston Metal, Sublime Systems and VEIR.
She founded Project 11 Ventures in 2014 and served as Managing Director. Prior to that, Katie held leadership roles at Techstars Boston, serving as Managing Director from 2011-2014 and Chairman until 2016. She has advised hundreds of founders and invested in more than 100 companies at the earliest stages of formation. Key investments include Flywire, Pillpack (acquired by Amazon for $1 billion), Bevi, GrabCad, and Synack.
Katie founded Equity Summit in 2018, an annual event bringing together female and underrepresented minority fund managers and world leading Limited Partners. She serves as the organization’s President.
In addition to her extensive investing career, Katie has more than fifteen years of experience in senior management and product positions at Microsoft, Eons, AltaVista, RagingBull, Zip2, and Mirror Worlds. She holds an MBA from Yale University and a BA in Biology from Oberlin College.
Head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering Morton and Claire Goulder and Family Professor in Environmental Systems Professor of Materials Science and Engineering MacVicar Fellow, MIT Materials Science and Engineering
Jeffrey C. Grossman is the Department Head of Materials Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Morton and Claire Goulder and Family Professor in Environmental Systems. He received his PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Illinois and performed postdoctoral work at the University of California at Berkeley. In 2009 he joined MIT, where he has developed a research program known for its contributions to energy conversion, energy storage, membranes, and clean-water technologies. He has published more than 200 scientific papers, holds 17 current or pending U.S. patents, and co-founded two companies to commercialize novel membranes materials for efficient industrial separations.
Thriving entrepreneurial ecosystems (e.g., Silicon Valley, Kendal Sq., etc.) require more than just money. In addition to capital and technology, they need an educated workforce, entrepreneurial talent, infrastructure, potential customers, supporting services (e.g., legal, accounting, etc.), and a policy framework that promotes innovation. What role can investors assume to help entrepreneurs transform early-stage ventures into successful businesses? Which mechanisms are being used, at the federal and private level and how, at the end, does this impact the broader ecosystem.
Director, MIT Startup Exchange
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