2022 UChicago / PME Industry Partnerships Day

This event is for academic and industrial scientists, engineers, managers, and innovators.

This event brings together companies and university innovators and researchers to learn, share, network, and discover new areas of interest, collaboration, and synergies in the areas of sustainability and health, along with cross-cutting and game changing approaches.

This event will be held on the campus of the University of Chicago. More details to come.

Molecular engineering is a challenge-based approach to engineering research and training that integrates and prioritizes tools and perspectives from different disciplines. You will learn about emerging technologies, assumptions, limits, and the molecular engineers working towards solving these challenges. More importantly, these conversations will lead to deeper discussions on research infrastructure and bottlenecks to overcome to facilitate more seamless and productive partnerships.

Wed-Oct 26 (afternoon reception into dinner) through Thursday, Oct 27th (all day into dinner)

Shrayesh Patel completed his undergraduate degree at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in 2007, then received his PhD in chemical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 2013.

The Patel Group focuses on functional polymers – soft materials that have material processing properties of traditional polymers (i.e. “plastics”), but with the ability to transport neutral molecules, ions, or electrons. Moreover, functional polymers have the ability to be redox-active, optically-active, and responsive to external stimuli such as temperature. Therefore, the properties of functional polymers can be tuned through molecular design to fit the needs of a wide-array of applications. With this versatility, functional polymers can be leveraged to regulate charge transport in electrochemical devices, convert solar energy to electricity, convert thermal energy to electricity, and purify water.  Beyond energy applications, these materials can be applied to biomedical systems such as controlled drug release or the development of degradable implantable electronic devices. While the current focus of the group is on batteries and thermoelectrics (devices that interconvert heat and electricity), we will continue to look for interesting and innovative applications areas that allow us to leverage the diverse nature of functional polymers.

Title: Microbiome Engineering for Human Health

Abstract: Microbes that inhabit the human body are integral to human health and are implicated in many diseases, that range from inflammatory bowel disease, autism, metabolic syndrome, and cancer. Due to its high connectivity with human physiology, precise manipulation of the microbiota has therapeutic potential across multiple physiological axes. Here, I will discuss synthetic biology technologies that can be applied to engineer and better understand the microbiota, including genetic modification of gut bacteria, bacteriophage engineering, and micro-bio-electronic sensors to monitor gastrointestinal health. These efforts set the stage for fundamental mechanistic studies of host-microbe interaction, as well as translational efforts to advance cellular and viral microbiome therapies to the clinic.

Mark Mimee's interest in microbial life began in Montreal, Canada, where he completed his BSc. in microbiology and immunology at McGill University. Inspired by the nascent field of synthetic biology, Prof. Mimee pursued studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, completing his PhD in microbiology as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) International Student Fellow and a Qualcomm Innovation Fellow.

Mark Mimee’s research focuses on developing strategies to precisely engineer the activity and composition of the microbiota. By genetically manipulating commensal microbes, he seeks to create living devices that can serve as biosensors to probe the structure and function of the microbiome and as cell-based therapeutics for infectious and inflammatory disease. Additionally, he develops approaches to augment the natural properties of viruses that infect bacteria, called bacteriophage, to create novel therapies for antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. His long-term vision is to implement these synthetic biology technologies to chart new basic and translational studies to exploit the microbiota for human health.

Title: The technology trends shaping business and society – Outlook from McKinsey 2022 research

​​Abstract: Technology continues to be a primary catalyst for change in the world. Technology advances give businesses, governments, and social-sector institutions more possibilities to lift their productivity, invent and reinvent offerings, and contribute to humanity’s well-being. And while it remains difficult to predict how technology trends will play out, executives can plan ahead better by tracking the development of new technologies, anticipating how companies might use them, and understanding the factors that affect innovation and adoption.

To that end, we have worked with the external and internal experts on the McKinsey Technology Council to identify and interpret 14 of the most significant technology trends unfolding today. This study builds on our prior trend research, adding fresh data and deeper analysis to provide a more granular assessment of trends in two thematic groups: Silicon Age, which encompasses digital and IT technologies, and Engineering Tomorrow, which encompasses physical technologies in domains such as energy and mobility.

Our analysis examines such tangible factors as investment, research activity, and news coverage to gauge the momentum of each trend. We also conducted dozens of interviews and performed hundreds of hours of research to learn which industries are apt to benefit most as they absorb these technologies. And, recognizing that trends can shift, we examined the uncertainties and questions that surround each of them.  

I’ll share an overview of our technology trend research, with a skew towards my own area of digital technologies.  I’ll also share perspective on the shaping role that leading academic institutions like PME can play.

Rodney Zemmel is the global leader of McKinsey Digital, serving clients across a range of industries on growth strategy, performance improvement, and value creation by harnessing the power of data and analytics, digital culture and capabilities, and modernized core technology. McKinsey Digital now represents more than one-third of the firm’s client work, with more than 5,000 colleagues across 100 offices specialized in digital and analytics.

Previously, he was the managing partner for McKinsey’s Northeast offices, which include the firm’s Boston, New York, and Stamford locations. Prior to that, he led McKinsey’s Healthcare Systems & Services Practice, working with clients in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and healthcare services. He also led the firm’s support for private-equity clients and other companies in consumer-facing industries.

Rodney is a recognized thought leader, writing articles that appear in leading business publications, including Harvard Business Review and Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. He is a coauthor of the book Go Long: Why Long-Term Thinking Is Your Best Short-Term Strategy (Wharton Digital Press, 2018), is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, and represents McKinsey at forums such as the National Association of Corporate Directors, CEO Academy, and other roundtables. In addition, Rodney serves on the board of British American Business.

Dr. Moore began his career with Johnson Polymer in 1998 and worked in research and development until the organization’s acquisition by BASF. He was then assigned to a Sr. Group Leader position in the raw materials for coatings organization, where he served for 4 years in various roles developing novel coatings technologies. Following this role, Dr. Moore worked in the High-Temperature Polymerization Group (a Global Technology team) of BASF as a Sr. Research Associate. In 2011, Dr. Moore decided to choose a new career challenge and moved to Avery Dennison, where he served as a Principal Scientist in the Platform Technologies group. There, he became involved in the development of new technology platforms for the various product development teams. This role encompassed technology strategy development and the use of both internal and open innovation platforms. He then took roles in Patent licensing, Venture Investing, and now building and managing a team in Open Innovation.

Dr. Moore’s current role is in managing the newly formed Open Innovation Studio. In this role, he has used his prior experience, chemistry expertise, and strategy development skills to help build and grow our innovation culture, Open Innovation tools, and strategies for the development and execution of new platforms in order to develop new Innovations for Avery Dennison.

Dr. Collin Moore received his BS in Chemistry from Grove City College, Grove City, PA. His PhD was awarded by the University of Akron College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering in Akron, OH.

Joe Bernstein received an AB in physics and MBA from the University of Chicago and PhD in astronomy & astrophysics from the University of Michigan. Joe's MBA studies focused on managerial & organizational behavior, general management, and entrepreneurship. Additionally, Joe undertook postdoctoral research projects in cosmology and high-performance computing at Argonne National Laboratory.

Joe has more than 25 years of academic and industry experience in functional and general management, board governance, financial planning, grant administration, student advising, science communication, and scientific research. Joe also co-founded a company focused on professional development for higher education students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty members with an emphasis on memorable storytelling, effective negotiation, and diversified personal and family finance.

Melanie Scarlata leads the Corporate Relations team at Chicago Booth, working with firms to identify mutually beneficial partnership opportunities. Prior to joining the Corporate Relations team in 2018, Melanie was responsible for cultivating and expanding company relationships on behalf of Booth students and alumni on the Employer Relations team.  Melanie joined Career Services in 2004, managing the campus recruiting process and subsequently working with the coaching team to develop and implement career management programing. Prior to joining Booth, she worked for a LaSalle Street proprietary trading firm. Melanie earned a BA in Economics and Political Science from Loyola University of Chicago.

Briana works with PME graduate students and postdoctoral scholars to direct them to relevant campus resources, develop PME-specific programming, and connect them to career opportunities. She also engages faculty and administrative partners in coordinating employer development and career support across academic programs. With the continued growth of PMEs academic programs and student population, Briana is an essential leader in long-term strategic planning for career development and recruitment pipelines.

Mike Hinton, PhD, serves as the Manager or Market Intelligence, at the University of Chicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Mike’s responsibilities include sourcing industry partners for the commercialization of a diverse portfolio of University intellectual property. He also identifies and monitors market trends and supports optimization of strategies for introducing technologies into the competitive environment.

Mike holds a PhD in immunology from Virginia Commonwealth University and conducted research on the hepatotoxic effects of anti-HIV therapeutics under a National Institute of Health fellowship. Prior to joining Polsky, Mike served on the board of directors of Colonial Scientific, a laboratory and medical supplier primarily serving the northeast region.  He also worked as a technical support chemist for Chemtool Incorporated providing technically oriented project management and sales support. 

In his spare time, Mike enjoys spending time with family, live music shows, and outdoor recreational activities.

Felix Lu promotes the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) among current and potential industry partners by understanding current industry challenges, priorities, and needs, and then connecting the needs to the appropriate university resources. By serving as an industry liaison for academic resources, he makes it easier for companies to interact fruitfully with the PME and the University of Chicago.