The Cornell Society of Engineers (CSE) Conference kicked off on April 5 and ran until April 7.
This year’s conference took a look at the ‘post-bubble environment’ of the technological world and was entitled “Entrepreneurs, Intrapreneurs and Investors: The Art of Creating Successful Technology-Based Businesses.”
The CSE is the official alumni association of the College of Engineering and has sponsored the event along with the College of Engineering since the first conference18 years ago.
The CSE conference attracted many prominent alumni and members of the engineering field. Among the topics were the emergence of the fiber optics communication system, starting venture capital businesses and the latest news from Silicon Valley.
Stephen Brooks ’04 said, “the events were more interesting than I thought they would be, and the topics discussed were very practical and applicable for students who will be entering the engineering field.”
The conference opened with the William G. Ohaus ’49 Memorial Manufacturing Engineering Seminar, given by David Welch, Ph.D ’85.
Other conference speakers included Dan Simpkins ’80, who spoke about “The Ten Laws of the Entrepreneur,” and Samuel Bodman ’60. Bodman, who has been nominated by President Bush to be the Deputy Secretary of Commerce, gave a speech about “Engaging the Entrepreneurial Spirit in a Traditional Organization.”
Marsh Pickens, assistant dean for alumni affairs and development in the College of Engineering, helped to organize the event and said, “We are very grateful for the speakers who came, at their own expense, to share their knowledge with the Cornell community.”
There were 80 alumni along with 80 students registered for this year’s conference.
“It is a wonderful opportunity to hear from alumni who are leaders in their field. This year we really made a point to reach out to students and get them to attend the conference to let them know what opportunities exist for them,” said Pickens.
“As an engineering student it has been great to hear the speakers and learn about what types of things we will be working with in the near future,” said Gregory Francis ’04 said,
Archived article by Sarah Willey