Smart Phone development and how this innovation will change the world

Kent State STEM Commercialization, Entrepreneurship & Innovation Forum

Students attending this forum participated in an extraordinary program that opened their eyes to new possibilities, inspired them to "think outside the box," and provided them with an opportunity to interact with professional STEM entrepreneurs and researchers.

At the Forum, students heard four speakers talk about how innovations will impact the future (see videos below). After listening and interacting with the speakers, students, assisted by college mentors, worked in teams to develop a new product, service or problem-solving innovation idea that they later pitched “Shark Tank style” to their peers.

John West is a Trustees Research Professor at Kent State University. Since December 2016, he has been serving as Interim Director of the Liquid Crystal Institute and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program. West holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the College of William & Mary, and a master’s in chemistry and Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University. He joined Kent State in 1984 as a senior research fellow of the Liquid Crystal Institute (LCI). He served as director of LCI and the National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center for Liquid Crystalline Optical Materials (ALCOM) from 1996 to 2002, and served as vice president for research and dean of graduate studies at Kent State from 2003 to 2010. During that time, he worked with NorTech to establish FlexMatters, a collaboration designed to support the growth of the flexible electronics industry in Ohio.

February 27, 2018

Dr. John West

How students can tap into their creativity and develop their skills to “Be Bold, Be You, Be Open"

Tatiana Stettler completed her doctorate at the University of Bern (Switzerland) in 2014. Her research interests include strategic entrepreneurship and management in various contexts. She explores strategic orientations (entrepreneurial, marketing, learning) of business firms as well as their impact on firm performance. Dr. Stettler currently teaches the following undergraduate courses: Introduction to Entrepreneurship, Strategic Dilemmas in Entrepreneurship, New Venture Creation.

Dr. Tatiana Stettler

Disruptive Technologies Affecting Tomorrow’s Workforce

Jim Cossler is the Huntington Bank Entrepreneur in Residence for the Youngstown Business Incubator. From his position as Senior Vice President for Corporate Services of the Regional Chamber of Commerce, Jim joined the organization in 1998 as its CEO when YBI was positioned as a traditional “mixed use” incubator, and became the primary architect of its transformation into the nationally known incubator, accelerator and managed technology cluster that YBI is today. In May 2017, Jim stepped down from his role as YBI’s CEO to devote himself to his passion, coaching startup companies. Today, as Entrepreneur in Residence, his primary role is to serve as a mentor and entrepreneurial expert to YBI’s portfolio of companies, as well as to build and manage the internal and external relations and networks necessary for their growth and success. Jim has been recognized as one of the Top 10 Technology Evangelists in Northeast Ohio by the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper. He has also been recognized as one of the 100 most influential business leaders in Northeast Ohio by both Inside Business magazine and Crain’s Cleveland Business.

Mr. Jim Cossler

Inspiring and challenging students to have the courage and audacity to choose to be the person they want to be

Justin Hilton, a triple degreed KSU alumnus, began his professional career as an architectural designer, working on such projects as The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Browns’ Stadium, The Great Lakes Science Center, The Downtown Cleveland Public Library, Continental Airlines Concourse at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the Cavalier’s Arena.  At KSU, he’s been a professor in the College of Architecture and Environmental Design, a Special Analyst and Success Solutions Consultant, the Senior Associate Vice President for University Relations, and now the Senior Administrator for Community Outreach.  Hilton has augmented his career as a business owner, motivational speaker, artist and servant on numerous boards of directors for schools, universities, businesses, associations, foundations, and non-profit and community organizations.

Mr. Justin Hilton

We encourage teachers to share the speakers’ short talks with their students to help them prepare for the future.  Individually and collectively these “TED-like” short talks will open your students’ eyes to the future, inspire them to “think outside the box” and challenge them to think about how to prepare themselves for their future.  Each Forum began with the video "Are You Ready for the Future" which set the stage for the talks that followed.  We encourage teachers to first show the "Are You Ready" video to their students to similarly set the stage for the talks that they will view.

Special thanks to the Burton D. Morgan Foundation for making this program possible.