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Penn Engineering Entrepreneurship at 25: Bridging Science and Business for Success in a Tech-Driven Economy
In 1999, Tom Cassel (ME’68, GME’73, GR’79) was a Penn Engineering doctoral alumnus with decades of entrepreneurial success in the energy sector. With a career bookended by a Peace Corps stint building water systems in the ‘70s and the sale of his company’s advanced power plants to multinationals in the ‘90s, he’d accomplished nearly everything an ambitious engineer would want.
But he was restless. Retirement didn’t suit his searching, thoughtful character.
That year, a chance meeting with Eduardo Glandt, the then-Dean of Penn Engineering, occasioned an unexpected job offer: to create and teach an entrepreneurship program tailored for engineers. He accepted.
Meet Vanessa Chan: Penn Engineering’s Inaugural Vice Dean of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Vanessa Chan, Jonathan and Linda Brassington Practice Professor in Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), brings a wealth of experience and a passion for innovation to her new role as the inaugural Vice Dean of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Penn Engineering.
Building Tomorrow’s Innovators: Inside Penn’s Widjaja Entrepreneurship Fellows Program
The room hums with anticipation. A group of would-be founders shifts in their seats, scribbling last-minute notes and readying their pitch decks. The lights dim as the projector flashes “AgriVue” onto the whiteboard and the first team steps up to the front, ready to deliver the pitch they’ve spent weeks rehearsing. Their goal is simple but monumental: convince the “investors” before them that their startup has the potential to change the world.
From Drummer to Educator: How Entrepreneurship Transcends Disciplines
For someone who’s navigated multiple careers and passions, starting in music, pivoting to tech and now teaching engineering entrepreneurship, Jeffrey Babin, Practice Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (MEAM), is quick to stress that his career path has been anything but linear. Yet, looking back, it’s clear that each step, each shift, has played a role in shaping the educator and mentor he is today.