Stevens Innovation Expo 2015 Shines Spotlight on Trailblazing Technology
[This story initially appeared on hMAG here and is reposted with permission.]
Stevens Institute of Technology pulled back the curtain on Wednesday (April 23), showcasing the trendsetting projects in the 8th annual Innovation Expo—a day-long, campus-wide celebration of the research and entrepreneurial achievements of Stevens undergraduate students and faculty. Visitors, local and national entrepreneurs, and distinguished guests witnessed firsthand the fruits of hard work and groundbreaking research taking place at Stevens.
In his opening remarks to attendees in Stevens’ DeBaun Auditorium, Provost and University Vice President George Korfiatis acknowledged the many partnerships and collaborations in which Stevens is engaged, including an alliance with Hoboken venture Mission 50 to create a co-working space in Hoboken that was made possible by a grant from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority as well as a collaboration with financial technology services firm Scivantage to support an accelerator program to launch the next great startups in financial technology.
Hoboken resident and entrepreneur Aaron Price, was on hand as moderator for the Student Project Plan and Elevator Pitch competitions.
Thomas H. Scholl introduced Dr. Winslow Sargeant, managing director of S&T, LLC, a firm supporting investment and business development for early-stage growth companies in cybersecurity, energy, communication, capital formation and education. He was tapped by President Barack Obama to be the Chief Counsel for Advocacy in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, a position he served in from 2010 to 2015. He was also program manager at the National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research Office from 2001 to 2005.
Sargeant’s talk, “Regulations, Innovations and Entrepreneurship,” examined the roles government and universities play in funding, generating and transferring the technological knowledge that leads to the creation of new enterprises. Along with teaching and performing research, universities like Stevens are becoming increasingly involved in the business of inventing companies, Sargeant observed. An accomplished engineer who holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering, he also shared that his view of entrepreneurship is one shaped by his education and training to solve problems.
Additional presentations outlined the rich tradition of innovation at Stevens, as well as recent real-world issues regarding coastal resiliency and a plan to improve preparedness and resiliency at critical Port Authority infrastructure sites including Hoboken Terminal.
Finally, the Expo culminated with a three-hour public display of innovative research projects and inventions from Stevens students and faculty.
To learn more, check out this comprehensive video from NJTVonline.org.
