An all-star cast of MIT faculty and administrators will participate this afternoon and tomorrow (March 29 and 30) in the first Convocation of Licensees, sponsored by the Technology Licensing Office (TLO). The event is open to MIT faculty members.
Presentations, panel discussions and a product fair will be featured for representatives of companies that have licensed technology from MIT.
"This is a unique opportunity for our licensees to learn about the exciting new trends in communications, robotics, materials and biology, and to network with other innovators, MIT faculty and students, and representatives from area venture capital firms," said Lita L. Nelsen, director of the TLO. More than 300 participants are expected for the event, which will be held in the Student Center and Kresge Auditorium.
"The idea is to honor the 'innovative spirit' of companies ranging from Fortune 500 corporations to startups that have invested in MIT technology," she said. "We also invited venture capitalists, other industrialists, members of MIT's Industrial Liaison Program and those inventors who are still at MIT."
Convocation participants can also engage in discussions with other senior executives from licensee companies that represent fields from biotechnology to e-commerce.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Alex d'Arbeloff, chairman of the MIT Corporation, will give opening remarks at 4pm today in the Student Center, which will host a reception and product fair showcasing MIT licensee companies.
Thursday, starting at 8:30am in Kresge Auditorium, President Charles M. Vest will talk about "The Innovative Atmosphere at MIT." Other presentations scheduled for Thursday are:
8:45am -- "Educating the Innovators," with Sloan School Professor Edward B. Roberts and Dean of Engineering Thomas Magnanti, will be moderated by Paul E. Gray, professor of electrical engineering and president emeritus of MIT.
11am -- "The University/Industry Interface," moderated by Chancellor Lawrence S. Bacow, will include Ms. Nelson; Gordon M. Binder, CEO and chairman of Amgen; and Karl F. Koster, director of MIT's Office of Corporate Relations.
2pm -- "Hot Trends in Communications and Robotics" will feature Timothy J. Berners-Lee, director of the World Wide Web Consortium in the Laboratory for Computer Science; Professor Rodney A. Brooks, director of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory; and Eric L. Grimson, associate director of the AI Lab and the Bernard Gordon Professor of Mechanical Engineering.
4pm -- "Hot Trends in Biology and Materials" will include Douglas A. Lauffenberger, the Joseph R. Mares Professor of Chemical Engineering and co-director of the Division of Bioengineering and Environmental Health; John B. Vander Sande, the Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering; and Professor Richard O. Hynes, director of the Center for Cancer Research.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on March 29, 2000.
