Influencers and Enablers

Rashid Bashir is Professor of Bioengineering, the Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering, and is currently the 15th Dean of Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Most recently, he was on the founding team of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago. He is fellow of IEEE, BMES,…

Heungsoo is a partner in Knobbe Martens, a top IP firm in the country.  With more than 23 years of experience in US IP laws and over 4 years of experience in Korean patent law, Heungsoo is skilled in taking challenging patents (at the USPTO) and getting them allowed quickly.…

Dr. Hala Madanat is the Vice President for Research and Innovation at San Diego State University and Albert W. Johnson Distinguished Professor of Public Health. Dr. Madanat stewards the university’s expansive research enterprise, leads the development of SDSU’s Mission Valley Innovation District, and oversees SDSU’s research advancement, research support services…

Sibyl Chen is the General Manager at Berkeley SkyDeck, UC Berkeley’s tech accelerator. In her role, Sibyl oversees the overall operation of the accelerator as well as the programming for the startups. During her 7 years at SkyDeck, 1,650 startups have gone through the program, and she has expanded the…