In a recent blog, we unveiled that Billy Starr, Founder and Executive Director of the Pan-Mass Challenge, will deliver the opening keynote at our State of Possible Conference. And, last week we were thrilled to announce Susan Hockfield, Ph.D., President Emerita, MIT will conclude the two-day conference with her closing keynote.
Dr. Hockfield served as the sixteenth president of MIT from 2004 to 2012 bringing new perspectives to the academic institute as the first life scientist and the first woman president and fostering the convergence of the life, physical, and engineering sciences. On her vision for MIT, she notes, “I want MIT to be the dream of every child who wants to grow up to make the world a better place. We need to reach those young explorers and bring them with us on the great adventure of discovery and innovation.” It is this mentality that led Dr. Hockfield to cultivate the pathway to a new future of the life sciences. One that engages anyone with a passion to “help invent the future.”
Appointed by President Obama to co-chair the steering committee of the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, Dr. Hockfield extended the reach of her legacy across the globe. She wielded a new perspective on manufacturing, writing that “to make our economy grow … we need to restore manufacturing – not the assembly-line jobs of the past, but the high-tech advanced manufacturing of the future.” She also excelled in biology and pioneered the use of monoclonal antibody technology in brain research, identifying proteins through which neural activity early in life affects brain development.
The author of the book, The Age of Living Machines, attendees of this remarkable presentation will have the opportunity to hear Dr. Hockfield discuss the promise of next-generation technologies that are ripe to disrupt and overcome the greatest humanitarian, medical, and environmental challenges of our time. Additionally, as diversity remains paramount to the future success of the industry, Dr. Hockfield will touch on her experiences as the first woman president of MIT to deliver a comprehensive look at our industry and the state of future innovation.
Secure your seat today. Register to attend MassBio’s State of Possible Conference taking place March 25-26 at the Royal Sonesta in Cambridge.