Deshpande Center

	Grant Program Catalyst Program i-Teams Events -IdeaStream -Ignition Forums -Faculty Workshops


	See on-line summaries of Ignition Forums on: BioMEMS UWB Wireless Data Security Pharma Portable Energy

Ignition Forums™ bring to MIT new challenges and ideas from industry. The objective is to spark new ideas and inventions that address real market opportunities.

Each forum focuses on a particular technology or industry area, with a panel of experts comprised of investors, analysts, and thought leaders in that industry. The panelists discuss market opportunities and challenges where technology is likely to make an impact in the next 2-4 years.

After the Ignition Forum, the Deshpande Center joins the MIT TechLink club to co-host a networking party, where students, faculty, and industry can discuss possible solutions to the challenges posed during the forum. The Deshpande Center will be favorably inclined to fund proposals that address challenges raised during these Ignition Forums.

IGNITION FORUM CALENDAR

Stay tuned for information about upcoming Ignition Forums.

PAST IGNITION FORUMS

BioMEMS holds a great deal of promise in microfluidics, drug discovery, sensing, and more. Come join us for a discussion with panelists from industry and the investment community about the most promising opportunities for this emerging technology.

Moderator: Charles Cooney, MIT professor of chemical and
biochemical engineering and faculty director of the Deshpande Center

Panelists:

Christoph Westphal of Polaris Venture Partners
Seth Rodgers, CTO of BioProcessors Corp.
Joseph Baron, principal of PureTech Development

A summary of the Ignition Forum is available online.

This UWB Wireless forum follows on the heels of the mid-September IEEE standards conference in Singapore, which is addressing implementation of the technology. UWB can be used for a wide range of applications, including high bandwidth networking in the home, self-organizing networks of miniature sensors in a battlefield, and imaging through walls.

Moderator: Bob Egan, president and founder of Mobile Competency

Panelists:

Bob Heile, chairman of IEEE’s 802.15 working group and founder of Appairent Technologies, a spinoff of the Eastman Kodak Co.
Craig Mathias, principal of the advisory and systems-integration firm Farpoint Group
Edgar Masri, general partner of Matrix Partners venture capital group. Formerly president of 3Com Ventures

A summary of the Ignition Forum is available online.

May 2003 - Data Security

Co-Chairs:

Prof. Stuart Madnick- MIT Sloan School of Management
Prof. Ron Rivest - MIT Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Panelists:

Jeffrey Schiller - Network Manager, MIT Information Systems
Mark McGovern - In-Q-Tel
Paul Kocher - President & CEO, Cryptography Research
Peter Kuper - SG Gowan

A summary of the Ignition Forum is available online.

May 2003 - Post-Genomic Challenges in Pharma

Co-Chairs:

Prof. Ram Sasisekharan - Biological Engineering Division
Prof. Stan Finkelstein - MIT Sloan School of Management

Panelists:

Terry McGuire - Polaris Venture Partners
Alan Crane - CEO, Momentum
Viren Mehta - Managing Partner, Mehta Partners, LLC
Brian Healy - Vice President, Merck

A summary of the Ignition Forum is available online.

March 2003 - Portable Energy

Moderator: Prof. Jefferson Tester

Panelists:

Brian Barnett - Managing Director, TIAX, LLC
Jason Howard - Energy Technologies Manager, Motorola
David Prend - Partner, Rockport Capital Partners
Kailash Shukla - Power Engineer, US Army OFW-TPO

Special faculty guests included Profs. Ely Sachs, Yang-Shao Horn, and Yet-Ming Chiang.

A summary of the Ignition Forum is available online.