2016 Speakers
Keynote and Plenary Speakers
Opening Plenary: Finding Your Way and Your Place in the Academic Ranks
Michael G. Spencer, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University
Michael G. Spencer received his B.S., M.Eng., and Ph.D. degrees from Cornell University. He does research in growth of compound semiconductors, and graphene, microwave devices, power conversion devices, and solar cells. His particular interest is correlation of device performance with material fabrication. He has authored over 130 publications and coauthored five U.S. patents. Dr. Spencer is a co-founder of Widetronix; was co-organizer of International Conference on SiC and Related Materials (ISCRM); is a member of the Army Research Laboratory Technical Assessment Board (administered by The National Academies); and received the Presidential Young Investigator Award in 1985.
Luncheon Keynote: Developing as a Leader and Managing Service Commitments
Christine Ortiz, Cornell Ph.D. alumna and Dean of the Graduate School, MIT
Christine Ortiz obtained her Ph.D. from Cornell University in the field of materials science and engineering, with a minor in theoretical and applied mechanics. During graduate school, Dr. Ortiz carried out collaborative research each summer at the University of Cambridge, Cavendish (physics) Laboratory in the UK. After graduation, she was granted an NSF-NATO postdoctoral fellowship, which she used to carry out research in the Department of Polymer Chemistry, University of Groningen, in the Netherlands. Dr. Ortiz has over 175 scientific publications in more than 20 academic journals, has given more than 130 invited research lectures, and has supervised more than 80 students from 10 different academic disciplines. She has received over 30 national and international honors, including the Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecturer Award, National Security Science and Engineering Faculty Fellowship; she was a Lady Davis Fellow and visiting professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel, where she received the Hadassah Appreciation Medal; the MIT Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award; and the National Science Foundation Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, which was presented to her by President George W. Bush at the White House. She is also a fellow of the Defense Science Study Group. Dr. Ortiz is the founding and current faculty director of the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) – Israel program. She has served on over 50 departmental and Institute committees and working groups and in her current role as Dean for Graduate Education leads areas which include fellowships, educational innovation, graduate admissions administration, diversity initiatives, policies and procedures, and Institute-wide data analysis.
Closing Plenary: Remaining True to Your Voice and Scholarship
Eduardo M. Peñalver, Allan R. Tessler Dean and Professor of Law, Cornell University
Eduardo M. Peñalver received his B.A. from Cornell University and his law degree from Yale Law School. Between college and law school, he studied philosophy and theology as a Rhodes Scholar at Oriel College, Oxford. Upon completing law school, Dean Peñalver clerked for Judge Guido Calabresi of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and at the Supreme Court for Justice John Paul Stevens. Dean Peñalver’s scholarship focuses on property and land use, as well as law and religion. His work explores the way in which the law mediates the interests of individuals and communities. His writing on property has appeared in numerous leading law journals. His book, Property Outlaws (co-authored with Sonia Katyal), published by Yale University Press in February 2010, explores the vital role of disobedience within the evolution of property law. His most recent book, An Introduction to Property Theory (co-authored with Gregory Alexander), was published by Cambridge University Press in 2011.