RitaMcGrath
Princeton is discovering its entrepreneurial mojo, and part of that is integrating the traditional concerns of entrepreneurs – can we make something new that someone will buy – with the concerns of the humanities.
Under the direction of Nena Golubovic, Princeton is beginning to embrace the idea that the discoveries in not only its research labs but in its humanities classes could truly have an impact on the world. In this second Innovation Day, over 280 guests heard from inspiring panel speakers, keynotes and – the focal point of the day – from teams of student and faculty entrepreneurs who compete for recognition in a (very polite) version of Princeton’s own “Shark Tank.”
The opening panel of the conference was moderated by Golubovic and featured Manish Bhardwaj, the director of Keller’s program in social sciences, Jessie Treu, a founder of the venture capital firm Domain Associates and Chris Kuenne, a founder of the wildly successful company Rosetta and now a member of the faculty at Princeton and CEO of Rosemark, a world-class marketing company.
We had a fascinating perspective from Andrea Goldsmith, who is the Dean of Engineering and Applied Science and the Arthur LeGrand Doty Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Princeton University. The woman is formidable – she has 29 patents, was part of startups (one of which went public) and was recently named to the National Inventors Hall of Fame. So what persuaded a warmth-loving and highly successful person to decamp from Stanford and join Princeton? Exactly the integration between the two spheres – the sciences and the humanities.
A presentation is a formal talk, often delivered in front of an audience, aimed at conveying information, persuading others, or sharing insights on a particular topic. Presentations can take various forms, such as verbal speeches, slideshows, demonstrations, or multimedia displays. They are commonly used in academic, professional, and social settings to communicate ideas, proposals, reports, or findings.
The day’s keynote presentation was from John Payne, the first Head of Design at Public Policy Lab, a New York City-based non-profit. He picked up on the hammer and nails theme and said he was honored to be between the hammers and the nails (his keynote was in between the STEM and humanities pitches). He shared 3 case studies in which his group had used design principles to tackle social problems, often in partnership with various agencies and not for profits.
For Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
First Place: Opto-therapeutics
Second Place: Reinventing package delivery
Humanities and Social Sciences
First Place: Performing for Peace
Second Place: School for Participation
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