Dr. Mae Jemison To Address Women of Diversity Entrepreneurship Conference

October 28, 2004

Conference to be held on Wednesday, Nov. 3 at Rensselaer’s Troy Campus  

TROY, NY — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship today announced that Dr. Mae Jemison, the founder of two technology companies and the first African American female astronaut to travel into space, will give the keynote address at its “Women of Diversity Entrepreneurship” Conference on Wednesday, Nov. 3.  The conference will also include a discussion with three other women entrepreneurs.

“This conference is part of the Severino Center’s effort to spark the interest of young women to pursue entrepreneurial ventures and careers in science and technology, and to provide an important networking opportunity for women entrepreneurs in the region,” said Iftekhar Hasan, acting dean of Rensselaer’s Lally School of management and Technology and interim director of the Severino Center. “We believe hearing Dr. Jemison’s story of her personal journey can inspire others to pursue endeavors they never imagined before.”

The conference, “Making Connections — Off to a Good Start,” is free to the public and will be held from 9 a.m. to noon in the Darrin Communications Center (Room 308) on Rensselaer’s Troy campus.  The audience will include groups of students from area schools and youth organizations.

Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson will give opening remarks, which will be followed by  Dr. Jemison’s keynote address.  A panel discussion will follow with: Cecelia Domingos, a Lally MBA graduate and founder and CEO of Orca Gear, which incubated at Rensselaer and is now headquartered in Troy; Angela Hribar, senior vice president of sales and marketing at GlobalSpec, which is located in Rensselaer Technology Park; and Mallar R. Solai, president and CEO of Solai Cameron Technologies and ComTel Technologies based in Chicago.

Jemison founded the Jemison Group in March 1993, to focus on the beneficial integration of science and technology in everyday life.  In 1999 she launched a second technology company, BioScientient Corporation, to develop and market mobile equipment to monitor a body’s vital signs in stressful situations.  In addition to her groundbreaking roles as astronaut and entrepreneur, Dr. Jemison is also a medical doctor, former medical missionary to West Africa, a linguist, and television broadcaster.

This the third in a series of annual conferences sponsored by Rensselaer’s Severino Center at the Lally School of Management and Technology.  Additional information and registration for the conference is available at www.scte.mgmt.rpi.edu, or by phone at 518-276-2650.

About the Severino Center at Rensselaer’s Lally School
Established in 1988, the Paul J. ’69 and Kathleen M. Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship (SCTE) helps foster new generations of budding and successful entrepreneurs through outreach programs, education, and research. Centered in Rensselaer’s Kenneth T. and Thelma P. Lally School of Management and Technology, the mission of the SCTE is to integrate educational and research programs by exposing every Rensselaer student to the practices and principles of entrepreneurship; infuse the fundamentals of entrepreneurship throughout the Rensselaer curriculum; extend Rensselaer’s leadership and national prominence in technological entrepreneurship; and enhance the synergy between entrepreneurship and information technology.

About Rensselaer’s Lally School
Rensselaer’s Lally School of Management and Technology was founded in 1963 as an integral part of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the nation’s oldest technological university. Rensselaer’s Lally School is dedicated to advancing business through innovation. Its curriculum is designed to produce leaders who combine creative passion with the ability to integrate technology across business functions. Lally School faculty members emphasize the value of hands-on experience available through campus resources such as the Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship and a world-class Business Incubator. Rensselaer’s Lally School offers graduate and undergraduate degree programs in management, doctoral programs in management and technology, an Executive MBA program, and a joint Sino-U.S. MBA for companies operating in China. For more information: www.lallyschool.rpi.edu.

Contact: Theresa Bourgeois
Phone: (518) 276-2840
E-mail: bourgt@rpi.edu

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