The MIT Startup Exchange Lightning Talks below are part of the full agenda for the 2024 MIT Houston Symposium - Future-Proofing Your Operations.
Join industry leaders at our highly anticipated MIT Houston conference, Future-Proofing Your Operations, and gain the insights needed to navigate the dramatic changes driven by global economic forces, emerging technologies, and evolving government policies. This event will explore the transformative power of artificial intelligence (AI), essential workforce development strategies, groundbreaking advancements in manufacturing, shifting international trade patterns, and the impact of recent U.S. legislation on industrial policy.
Through a dynamic mix of keynote speeches from MIT faculty, panel discussions, and interactive sessions with startups, the conference provides valuable perspectives on forces reshaping the industry landscape. As the nation navigates deglobalization and makes significant investments in infrastructure and technology, it is imperative that business leaders anticipate and plan for these inevitable changes. MIT's thought leaders will share their knowledge and expertise to help leverage these shifts, ensuring operations are primed to thrive in this new environment.
Founder & CEO, iQ3 Connect
Ali Merchant is the founder and CEO of iQ3Connect. He brings 20+ years of experience in the development of 3D design and simulation software in the aerospace industry to the iQ3Connect team. Software tools and methods he has developed are used in the aerospace industry and education in universities. Ali holds a Masters and Ph.D. from the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Co-Founder & CEO, Active Surfaces
Shiv Bhakta, co-founder and CEO, is an MIT MS/MBA alum with a passion for climate solutions. His experiences at the Department of Energy, ExxonMobil, Verizon Sustainability, and MUUS Climate Partners,combined with academic pursuits in corporate sustainability, have equipped him with a nuanced understanding of deeptech commercialization in the climate space. Shiv is the public face of the company, forging key relationships for capital, customer acquisition, and talent recruitment. This year, Shiv was listed on the Forbes 30 under 30 list.
CEO, Leela AI
Dr. Cyrus Shaoul obtained his B.Sc. in Cognitive Science from MIT in 1993, and his Ph.D. from the University of Alberta in 2012. While at MIT he was an undergraduate researcher at the Media Lab. He co-founded one of the first Internet technology companies in Japan in 1994, called Digital Garage. Cyrus is a co-founder and the CEO of Leela AI. He and his team are laser-focused on building a scalable solution to the problem of building a new, more powerful kind of visual intelligence. Cyrus speaks Japanese, French and Spanish.Dr. Cyrus Shaoul is an entrepreneur and computational neuroscientist with expertise in computational cognitive modeling. Cyrus was co-founder and CTO of Digital Garage, which he led from a start-up to a successful IPO. (BSc. MIT, PhD U Alberta).
CEO, Prescient Devices
Dr. Andy Wang is the founder and CEO of Prescient Devices, Inc., a data technology company focused on scaling data and AI solutions for industrial and energy sectors. Prior to Prescient, Andy was the co-founder and CTO of GTI IoT Technology, which focusedon delivering large-scale, low-power wireless sensor solutions. Andy received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.s Institute of Technology.Dr. Kent Sorenson is a globally recognized expert with over 25 years of experience in innovative remediation technologies for water, soil, and sediments across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. He has pioneered advancements in bioremediation, chemical oxidation, chemical reduction, thermal remediation, monitored natural attenuation, and more, and was honored by the American Society of Civil Engineers with the 2020 Henry L. Michel Award for Industry Advancement of Research. He holds six U.S. patents related to in situ bioremediation and technologies to install solid-phase amendments in the subsurface to treat low permeability sites, and is currently focusing on the development of technologies for treatment of PFAS-contaminated water.
Kent has worked at nearly 200 sites worldwide, and has coauthored over 40 scientific publications and over 180 presentations at various national and international conferences and symposia.
Disclaimer: MIT Startup Exchange can make introductions that ideally provide open ended discussions in order to share mutual interests and potentially create common ground that incite the parties to collaborate. MIT Startup Exchange introductions may eventually lead to mutual partnerships, but that is not in any way guaranteed by MIT, MIT Corporate Relations, MIT Industrial Liaison Program (ILP) or MIT Startup Exchange, which takes no responsibility for these outcomes and no formal part in such discussions following our introduction. MIT Startup Exchange and its activities and events are not for purposes of soliciting investment or offering securities.