Past Events

Eclectic Convergence, Cornell Entrepreneurship Summit

Friday, October 31, 2025 - 9:45am to 5:00pm
Location: Verizon Executive Education Center, Cornell Tech, 2 West Loop Road, New York, NY 10044

Entrepreneurship at Cornell hosts the Eclectic Convergence summit annually in New York City featuring speakers who are inspiring, entrepreneurial role models. Don’t miss your chance to listen to amazing speakers, network with fellow Cornellians, students and business executives, and watch some of Cornell’s awesome startups pitch their businesses.

During the networking breaks, you will have a chance to meet and mingle with approximately 450 enthusiastic attendees including faculty and alumni – many of whom are active entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and angel investors.

RSVP here

The words "Eclectic Convergence" in black with a red number 25 at the end.

Lab to Impact Health Module: From Idea to Prototyping and Design in Medical Devices

Wednesday, October 29, 2025 - 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Location: Virtual

Join us for a dynamic panel exploring the critical role of prototyping in medical device development. Whether you're navigating early-stage innovation or scaling within a global enterprise, this session offers valuable perspectives.  

Moderated by Dr. Donna Rounds, associate director of business development and licensing at the Center for Technology Licensing, panelists include:

  • Audrey Beckman – seasoned executive with 35+ years of experience in leadership roles in medical device product design
  • Anthony Carnemolla – serial entrepreneur and medical device CEO
  • Dr. Mohammed Fouda – neurosurgeon innovating in pediatric device development
  • Dr. Rache Simmons – breast surgeon and key opinion leader focused on patient-centered design

Register here.

Photos of the four panelists (two men and two women) and the moderator (another woman) all in business attire

CTL at Weill Cornell Medicine Office Hours with Brian Kelly

Wednesday, October 22, 2025 - 2:00pm to 4:00pm
Location: Virtual

Center for Technology Licensing (CTL) at Weill Cornell Medicine Office Hours are open to all who wish to gain more information about the advancement of their patent filings and to discuss their technology venture project in a one-on-one meeting with a business development and licensing professional. The October office hours will be hosted by Brian Kelly, Ph.D., CLP, director of business development and licensing. 

Brian manages a portfolio of inventions focusing on oncology, gene therapy, metabolic diseases, the microbiome and endocrine disorders. Prior to joining CTL at Weill Cornell, he served as director of intellectual property for New York University’s tech transfer office. He has also held positions at the University of Minnesota as a licensing associate, Heide, Hyde & O’Donnell as an associate European patent attorney and Smith, Kline & French as a research chemist.

Register here for your 30-minute private session. 

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NY Metro Builds Bio+ Symposium for Life Science Innovation and Development

Wednesday, October 22, 2025 - 8:00am to 3:00pm
Location: CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue (at 34th St), New York, NY 10036

You are invited to join the New York Metro Builds Bio+ 8th Annual Symposium for Life Science Innovation & Development, which focuses on the Greater New York Metropolitan area (also encompassing eastern New Jersey and southern Connecticut) and how it continues to emerge as the largest and one of the fastest growing life sciences economies in the country.

The New York Metro’s life sciences ecosystem is undergoing unprecedented change and growth driven by new technologies, new partnerships/collaborations, new spaces for commercialization and new infrastructure being developed to support this growth. Despite a year of continuing challenges in federal research funding, private investment and vacancy rates, the theme of the upcoming NY Metro Builds Bio+ 8th Annual Symposium – “For Innovation to Thrive: From Science to Building the Required Infrastructure, Workforce, Companies, and Relationships” - has never had greater meaning. The symposium will dive into these topics in detail.

Register at: http://buildsbio.org/nymetro2025#register

Promo Code: NY25CORNELL

* The code is applied on the last page before checkout. Please register to ensure your name badge is prepared for the event. 

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NSF I-Corps Regional Course Hosted by Dartmouth College (Application Deadline: 10/15/25)

Wednesday, October 15, 2025 - 9:00am to 5:00pm
Location: Virtual

Led by the NSF I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast (IN I-Corps), these free NSF I-Corps Regional Courses are designed for university-based STEM researchers and early-stage founders interested in evaluating the market potential of their technology and learning valuable entrepreneurial skills. 

In this month-long virtual course (November 12 - December 15), researchers working on a deep tech innovation “get out of your comfort zone” and talk with customers (virtually) to identify the best product-market fit.

You may apply with a team of 1-3 people. Teams may not split attendance between members. Please only include the members of your team that will be fully participating in the course. All team members are required to attend and participate fully in every course session and complete all coursework.

Apply here. Questions? Contact icorps@cornell.edu or visit www.in-icorps.org/regional-courses. 


From Code to Clinic: Investing in AI and Life Sciences

Thursday, October 9, 2025 - 2:00pm to 2:45pm
Location: Virtual

Please join us for the latest installment of Cooley Talks Life Sciences. In this quarterly virtual series, we tap into Cooley’s unrivaled network of life sciences thought leaders to discuss key industry developments, challenges, solutions and the road ahead.

This episode explores how artificial intelligence (AI) and digital health are reshaping the life sciences industry – from accelerating research and development to transforming commercialization strategies. The esteemed panel will dive into the evolving investment landscape, spotlighting where capital is flowing, how valuations are shifting, and what companies and investors need to know when adopting AI-powered and digital therapeutic solutions.

Topics for discussion

  • AI’s expanding role in life sciences: From early-stage research to clinical development and beyond, how AI is driving efficiency and innovation
  • Digital therapeutics on the rise: The evolving regulatory environment and what investors need to know
  • Investment trends and valuation frameworks: Where capital is flowing in AI, digital health and life sciences – and how deal structures are adapting
  • Strategic partnerships and scaling: How companies and investors can collaborate to accelerate growth while mitigating risk
  • IP strategy: Protecting and enforcing IP, structuring portfolios for strategic advantage, and unlocking monetization opportunities in the AI-life sciences landscape

Panelists

Register here

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NSF I-Corps Information Session

Wednesday, October 8, 2025 - 12:00pm to 12:45pm
Location: Virtual

Are you a STEM researcher interested in making an impact with your technology innovation? The National Science Foundation’s I-Corps program can provide you with professional training, mentoring and up to $50,000 in funding for customer discovery. 

Hosted by the Interior Northeast I-Corps Hub (IN I-Corps), the virtual NSF I-Corps Information Session is designed for busy graduate students, postdocs and faculty interested in learning more about I-Corps regional and national programming. NSF I-Corps instructors and alumni will be in attendance to share their experience and answer questions. 

The NSF created I-Corps (Innovation Corps) to bridge the gap between fundamental research discoveries in science and engineering and the commercialization of technologies, products and processes with the potential to benefit society.  

Register here

A group of students wearing white coats doing an experiment.

Innovation & Entrepreneurship Workshop: Beachhead Market Selection

Wednesday, October 1, 2025 - 11:45am to 1:00pm
Location: Virtual

As an entrepreneur, your beachhead market is the foundation of your startup. Founders initially focus on one specific target market with accessible customers and minimal competition. In this free workshop, you’ll learn how to select your beachhead market and the benefits of this approach. 

Moderated by Cornell Entrepreneur in Residence Julie Eagle, the panel discussion will feature: 

  • Adele Smolansky, founder and CEO of AI-Learners 
  • Kristen McClellan, founder and CEO of SNAP Wellness 

Register now.  

This workshop is part of the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Series presented by Cornell’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement and powered by the SC Johnson College of Business. Designed to explore the entrepreneurial journey from ideation to operation, the series is open to any Cornellian with a vision for a startup, including researchers, faculty, doctoral students, graduate students and undergraduates across Cornell’s campuses. 

A woman wearing a yellow shirt and blue jeans pointing to a whiteboard. A man and a woman sitting at a table listening to her.

Advancing Women's Health

Friday, September 26, 2025 - 11:30am to 1:00pm
Location: Virtual

We invite you to join us for a special women’s health webinar spotlighting exciting new research at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Zhen Zhao, professor of clinical pathology and laboratory medicine, will present her idea for an AI-based clinical decision support tool for predicting the risk of pre-eclampsia.

Following this scientific presentation, we’ll be sitting down with the authors of "Unlocking Investment for Women’s Health", Dr. Misti Ushio, managing partner of Digitalis Ventures, and Ipsita Smolinski, founder and managing director of Capitol Street, to explore today’s funding landscape and discuss how investors, government, industry and advocacy groups can work together to accelerate innovations in women's health.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear fresh perspectives and novel solutions that can have a significant impact on the women's health sector in the near term.

Register here

Three female webinar speakers: one East Asian and two Caucasians

CTL at Weill Cornell Medicine Office Hours with Jeff James

Thursday, September 18, 2025 - 2:00pm to 4:00pm
Location: Virtual

Center for Technology Licensing (CTL) at Weill Cornell Medicine Office Hours are open to all who wish to gain more information about the advancement of their patent filings and to discuss their technology venture project in a one-on-one meeting with a business development and licensing professional. The September office hours will be hosted by Jeff James, Ph.D., associate director, business development and licensing. 

Jeff has over 15 years of experience helping academic institutions to commercialize their early-stage inventions. Prior to joining CTL at Weill Cornell, he was associate director for licensing at the Penn Center for Innovation, University of Pennsylvania, where he managed commercialization activities in the life science space. He has also held positions as licensing manager at both the University of Virginia and Johns Hopkins University.

Register here for your 30-minute private session. Click the right arrow on top of the calendar to choose the month.

African-American man with a beard in a light blue shirt and black suit.