Princeton Chemistry Engages with ENGAGE2020
The Department of Chemistry will participate in Princeton University’s upcoming ENGAGE2020, a three-day, immersive conference that celebrates innovation and entrepreneurship.
Hosted by Vice Dean for Innovation Rodney Priestley, the conference opens Wednesday, Nov 4. It is free and open to the public. Registration is required.
ENGAGE2020 offers a robust slate of 50 virtual sessions and workshops, with 170 speakers in fields like energy and sustainability, bioengineering, art and architecture, and social impact. Talks, panels, and networking opportunities will bring together Princeton innovators and entrepreneurs, investors, alumni, and professionals in government, business, finance, and funding organizations. Conference participants underscore its global appeal, with registrants from as far away as England, Australia, and the Ivory Coast.
David MacMillan, the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Chemistry, is a featured speaker with a talk on “Accelerating Interdisciplinary Research: The Princeton Catalysis Initiative.” His conversation with PCI’s Ian Davies begins at 9 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 5.
MacMillan will later discuss a new technology developed in his laboratory to identify cellular proteins for drug discovery as part of Celebrate Princeton Innovation, which begins at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 5. As part of the session’s Life Sciences Track, MacMillan will also participate in a live Q&A starting at 4 p.m.
In addition, the department’s newest corporate collaborator in PCI, Genmab US, Inc., will host a virtual booth and oversee brainstorming sessions. And Matt Truppo, from PCI partner Janssen BioTherapeutics, will discuss “Data Science in Oncology and Immunology: Drug Design and Target Identification,” at 10 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 5 with Genmab’s Brandon Higgs. As part of a full day of programming on Data Science in Oncology and Immunology, this in-depth workshop will explore areas of mutual interest and identify opportunities for collaboration in biomedical data science, computational oncology, and computational immunology.
“The goal for our participation is to foster deeper relationships and collaborations between the stellar Princeton University professors and neighboring companies that are working on innovative oncology medicines,” said Hisham Hamadeh, Global Head of Data Sciences at Genmab, a Danish biotech with its U.S. headquarters in Plainsboro. “The ENGAGE 2020 Conference is a unique forum that will enable the brightest scientific minds in academia and industry to discuss opportunities for data science applications in oncology.”
MacMillan said his session will focus on PCI as a mechanism to drive collaborations between campus researchers and industrial partners.
“Princeton has been proactive in undertaking impactful research that has real-world benefits. Conferences like this one will continue to make the Princeton campus a hub for scientific innovation, a place to look to engage talent,” said MacMillan. “We are conducting research that will impact society immediately while developing wonderful new relationships across campus and with many of the leading companies on the planet.”
A program of sessions, workshops, and presenters, can be found at the ENGAGE2020 website. The conference runs Wednesday, Nov. 4 through Friday, Nov. 6.