Dartmouth Innovation & Technology Festival Announces Speakers and Programs

The reimagined West End District adds 250,000 square feet of state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities as well as expanded faculties in engineering and computer science. It is funded by $500 million in investments through The Call to Lead Campaign and will spark learning and research at the intersections of science, engineering, business, and the liberal arts.

Expert Speakers and Panel Discussions

Featured speakers for the weekend include alumnus and US Senator Rob Portman, a co-sponsor of major legislation to foster US innovation; Freeman Hrabowski III, president of University of Maryland Baltimore County and a national champion for diversity in STEM fields; alumna and Ford Motor Company executive business analyst Kristen Morrow Johnson; and entrepreneur and alumnus Dave Girouard, co-founder and CEO of fintech lender Upstart.

The program kicks off Thursday with the One Dartmouth Start-Up Competition hosted by the Magnuson Center, where student entrepreneurs face off with their peers to pitch start-up ideas in a lively competition. The competition will culminate at the close of the festival on Saturday morning with the selection of a winner by a jury comprising national leaders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem: Errik Anderson, CEO and founder of Alloy Therapeutics; Caroline Hribar, COO of Bionic; and Geoff Ralston, President of Y Combinator.

Dartmouth faculty, alumni, and parents will participate in a series of panels and programs focused on the future of technology and innovation in numerous important societal arenas.

• Is Crypto the Answer for the Sustainable Future of Global Commerce? A conversation with financial tech executives and Tuck alumni John Burnett and Akin Sawyerr, moderated by Tuck dean Matt Slaughter.
  
• Putting Female-driven Innovation at the Center of an Equitable Healthcare System, a panel discussion with entrepreneur alumnae Kaitlin Maier, CEO and cofounder of Reia; Samantha Truex, CEO of Upstream Bio; Amogha Tadimety, cofounder and CEO of Nanopath; and Geisel faculty member Richard Barth, cofounder of Cairn Surgical Inc. This panel will be moderated by alumna Sherri Oberg, president and CEO of Particles for Humanity.
  
• Confronting the Climate Crisis: The Sustainability Triangle will be a conversation with alumni Annie McLane Kuster, US Representative from New Hampshire; Abby Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association; and Aly Jeddy, senior partner with McKinsey & Company. The panel will be moderated by alumnus Dan Reicher, former US Assistant Secretary of Energy.
  
• Finding the Angels in Our Machines: How Can We Make AI Work for Humanity? Alumni tech entrepreneurs Andrea Reisman Johnson, cofounder and CEO of Rally Reader and John Sargent, founding partner of BroadReach Group speak with Professor of Engineering Eugene Santos in a panel moderated by Professor of Math and Computer Science Daniel Rockmore.
  
• Prêt-à-porter? Is Wearable Health Tech the Panacea for Better Outcomes? Alumni George Boateng, CEO and cofounder of SuaCode.ai; Jeff Bemowski and Justice Amoh, cofounders of Clairways Smart Lung Monitoring, and graduate student Maria Nyamukuru speak with David Kotz, Dartmouth provost and professor of computer science, about the future of wearable tech in health care.
  
• Earth on the Rocks: What Space Ice Can Teach us about Life on our Planet Alumnus and astrobiologist Kevin Peter Hand and senior advisor for TPG Rise Climate Tracy Wolstencroft join Professor of Engineering Colin Meyer in a panel discussion moderated by Laura Ray, the Myron Tribus Professor of Engineering Innovation at Thayer.

The public is also invited to join the Dartmouth community for the dedication of the new 160,000-square-foot expansion of Thayer School of Engineering and home of the Department of Computer Science and Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship at 3:30pm on Friday, May 14.

Community and Family Programs

In addition to academic panels and discussions, interactive community and family-friendly activities and programs to celebrate the grand opening of the West End will occur throughout the weekend. These include:

• Formula Hybrid+Electric vehicle showcase and Dartmouth Formula Racing program exhibit on Tuck Circle
• Tours of the Irving Institute tiny research lab
• Undergraduate and graduate student research displays
• The Class of 1982 Engineering and Computer Science Center and Irving Institute open houses
• Montshire Museum experience for kids of all ages
• Friday community picnic with food and live music
• A special Friday night light show with student DJs, free food, and giveaways
• Saturday morning fun run with former provost Joe Helble
• Saturday food truck festival featuring local favorite food vendors
• Interactive learning opportunities presented by the DALI Lab, Dartmouth Sustainability Office, and STEM Robotix

All festival programs are free and open to the public. See a complete schedule of events and registration information.