Lynn Brann, Renate Chancellor, Rachel Dubrofsky, Shana Kushner Gadarian and Jing Lei

Five faculty members have been selected to participate in the 2024 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Academic Leaders Network.

The program is designed to facilitate cross-institutional networking and collaboration among academic leaders while building leadership capacity at participating ACC institutions.

���ϲ����� members of the 2024 cohort are:

• , associate professor and chair of nutrition and food studies in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics;
• , associate professor and associate dean for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in the School of Information Studies;
• , professor and chair of communication and rhetorical studies in the College of Visual and Performing Arts;
• , professor of political science and associate dean for research in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs; and
• , professor and associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Education.

The program will kick off with a virtual event Feb. 27, followed by three on-site sessions at Clemson University (March 20-22), University of Louisville (June 12-14) and North Carolina State University (Nov. 18-20).

The sessions will focus on leadership topics and promote leadership growth, awareness and effectiveness.

Participating faculty members from all member institutions have received foundational leadership training and served at least one year in a relevant leadership role.

“The ACC Academic Leaders Network is a fantastic opportunity for our faculty members to fast-track their leadership development and build important relationships with colleagues across higher education,” says Jamie Winders, associate provost for faculty affairs, who participated in the program in 2018-19.

The competition is open to undergraduate students or students who have received their undergraduate degree within the past year and who are the original creators, inventors or owners of the intellectual property underlying their invention. Alumni and industry leaders from around the country will serve as judges to select the “top inventor” to represent ���ϲ����� at the ACC Conference finals.

Aidan Mickleburgh, founder of Intervea, won second place in the 2023 ACC InVenture Prize competition.

The winner of the ���ϲ����� competition will receive an expense paid trip to compete in the ACC InVenture Prize finals from March 26 to 28 in Tallahassee, Florida. The televised finals feature one team from each of the 15 colleges and universities in the ACC Academic Consortium who compete for ��$30,000 in prizes. Teams with generated revenue or venture capital funding of more than $100,000 are ineligible. This includes funding from both institutional and non-institutional sources such as contests, grants, friends and family, bank loans, etc.

Student startup teams or researchers are invited to submit ��of a venture idea to participate in the ���ϲ����� campus qualifier.�� All campus qualifier finalists will also be invited to apply for LaunchPad Innovation Fund grants as well as , both available through gifts to ���ϲ����� Libraries. Competitive applications typically include technology or research that is being commercialized in areas such as agriculture, biology, life sciences, medical, climate, consumer electronics, education, finance, sports, hardware, software, artificial intelligence, augmented or virtual reality, big data, autonomous devices, robotics, advanced materials, Internet of Things, 5G and more. Digital platforms or services should have an underlying novel technology and ideally should be past the idea stage with some customer discovery and design drawings.

The ���ϲ����� ACC InVenture Prize is supported by the Provost’s Office and is hosted by ���ϲ����� Libraries and the . Past ���ϲ����� contestants who participated in the PBS-televised finals included: Kate Beckman ’17 G’18 (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications), founder of FreshU; Kayla Simon ’19 (College of Engineering and Computer Science) and Elizabeth Tarangelo ’19 (College of Engineering and Computer Science), co-founders of In-Spire; Alec Gillinder ’20 (College of Visual and Performing Arts) and Quinn King ’20 (College of Visual and Performing Arts), co-founders of MedUX (they captured second place in the conference finals); Russell Fearon ’20 G’21 (College of Engineering and Computer Science) and Ricardo Sanchez ’21 (College of Visual and Performing Arts), co-founders of SugEx; Noah Mechnig-Giordano ’23 G’23 (College of Engineering and Computer Science and Martin J. Whitman School of Management), founder of Happy Loose Leaf Tea; and Aidan Mickleburgh ’23 G’23 (College of Engineering and Computer Science and Martin J. Whitman School of Management), founder of Intervea (who captured second��place in the conference).

“Representing ���ϲ����� at the ACC InVenture competition is both an honor and an opportunity,” says David Seaman, dean of ���ϲ����� Libraries and University Librarian. “Past ���ϲ����� representatives have benefited from learning and networking at a national level, going on to pursue their innovations or careers in the tech sector. And the chance to earn up to $30,000 in prizes can have a tremendous impact to a startup.”

��

Aidan Mickleburgh ’23 G’23 holding the second place prize in the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) InVenture Prize competition.

Mickleburgh is founder of Intervea, an AI-powered patient medication compliance platform that can help avoid recurrent and preventable emergency room visits. “Over 700,000 patients are readmitted to the hospital each year due to prescription compliance problems like access, affordability and the ability to get answers to questions about usage,” says Mickleburgh. “These readmissions cost hospitals over $58 billion a year and are largely preventable but happen because of a lack of continuity and follow-ups after discharge. Intervea creates a unified platform between previously siloed components of the American healthcare system, lowering healthcare compliance barriers for patients of all demographics. These innovations are all possible because of the recent advancements in natural language processing models and economical last-mile delivery services which can allow for a more cohesive patient experience.”

Intervea provides three core services: facilitating prescription delivery so that patients can get their medication delivered the same day they are discharged; using artificial intelligence to create a 24/7 SMS service that can answer patient questions about medication use with regular follow up to ensure that the patient is following treatment protocol; and accessing available patient records and prescription data to help prevent conflicting medication interactions.

Mickleburgh is commercializing his idea with assistance from Libraries’ Blackstone LaunchPad (LaunchPad). He is supported by an advisory team of alumni and community mentors who include Health Protection and Promotion Act (HPPA) and data security experts, hospital and pharmacy professionals, and product and business development executives. Mickleburgh is also pursuing a Certificate in Technology Licensing and Entrepreneurship through the College of Law. He is a Rubin Family Innovation Mentor at the LaunchPad, where he helps other student startups with the venture development. He is also a graduate of the Invent@SU summer accelerator program offered by the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to have been able to represent ���ϲ����� on a televised national stage. Receiving this award is a validation of the importance of this problem to millions of patients just like me and a catalyst to push Intervea to new heights as we work to deliver our new care model to hospitals nationwide. Thank you to all my incredible advisors and mentors and to the LaunchPad Community. This is our win!” says Mickleburgh.

The LaunchPad coordinates the campus qualifier and mentors teams that compete for the coveted title of top ACC innovator. LaunchPad teams have been to the finals each year of the program. ���ϲ�����’s participation is supported by the Office of Academic Affairs.

Aidan Mickleburgh ’23 G’23, founder of Intervea and first place winner of ���ϲ����� Libraries’ Blackstone LaunchPad 2023 ACC InVenture Prize competition campus qualifier

, student in the and , founder of Intervea, was the first place winner of ���ϲ����� Libraries’ Blackstone LaunchPad (LaunchPad) 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) InVenture Prize competition campus qualifier. The competition was held at Bird Library on Feb. 10. Cherry Kim ’24, student in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and founder of Conformabelt, was the runner-up. Mickleburgh will represent ���ϲ����� in the national competition at Florida State University, while Kim will serve as a backup in the event Mickleburgh cannot participate.

The is a televised student start-up pitch competition open to teams from the 15 colleges and universities in the ACC Academic Consortium. The ACC InVenture finals feature a $30,000 prize package and is open to undergraduate students or students who have received their undergraduate degree within the past year and who are the original creators, inventors or owners of the intellectual property underlying their invention.

“I didn’t think this was how today would go, but I couldn’t be happier. I get to represent ���ϲ����� at the ACC InVenture prize amongst the best student innovators on the east coast. I am thrilled at the opportunity to share my vision of improved continuity in healthcare with Intervia,” says Mickleburgh. “As always, I stand on the shoulders of my supporters: everyone at the LaunchPad who has helped me refine my vision and keep pushing when it gets tough, my long-time mentor Linda Dickerson Hartsock, and my good friend (and last year’s ACC rep) Noah Mechnig-Giordano for his bullish optimism.” Mickleburgh’s business idea, Intervea, is a prescription compliance platform and health-tech company, building a solution to hospital readmissions caused by prescription non-compliance. Non-compliance costs over $57B and affects 700,000 lives annually. To tackle this problem, Intervea deploys artificial intelligence models to engage directly with patients and organizes the filling and delivery of their prescriptions to support them after a hospital discharge, facilitating better health outcomes.

About the Blackstone LaunchPad at ���ϲ����� Libraries:

The is the University’s innovation hub, connecting the entire campus resource-rich ecosystem with a global network that provides support for aspiring entrepreneurs, inventors and creators.��The program serves faculty, staff, students and alumni across disciplines who are interested in innovation, invention, entrepreneurship, venture creation, careers, entrepreneurial skills, diversity, equity, inclusion and taking ideas from concept to commercialization. The program supports a key pillar of ���ϲ�����’s Academic Strategic Plan to create an innovation ecosystem across the institution that prepares participants to be trailblazers in an entrepreneurial world.

Otto’s Army, the ���ϲ�����’s student section, is partnering with the Forever Orange Student Alumni Council on this special effort to spotlight the importance of giving back.

“Otto’s Army could not be more excited for the Blizzard! Seeing the student section come together and unite under this theme in support of our team is the highlight of game day. Being in the ���ϲ����� student section means more than just being a fan, it means being a part of something bigger—being a part of Otto’s Army. Giving goes a long way in helping the student section experience. Otto’s Army can only pull off so many of our wonderful initiatives without the support of these gifts, and so we appreciate everyone who assists us in our quest to remain the biggest, the loudest and the best student section in the nation,” says Anna Terzaghi ’25, president of Otto’s Army.

Students will be wearing Blizzard T-shirts with QR codes on the back; when someone scans to make a gift, that gift will go directly to Otto’s Army. Gifts support student travel to games, so that the travel does not become cost prohibitive.

For seniors, the gifts are especially meaningful. When a senior makes a gift of at least $20.23 in honor of their class year, it’s considered a Class Act gift—and the student will receive special cords at Commencement to show that they gave back.

“I’m proud to give back to the ���ϲ����� community because it makes special events and unique opportunities possible that current and future students can enjoy and take advantage of during their college experience,” says Anna Jenkins ’23, co-president of the Forever Orange Student Alumni Council.

The Blizzard is set for Monday, Jan. 30, at 7 p.m. in the JMA Wireless Dome. The game will be nationally televised and is the only ACC game that day, meaning all eyes will be on this amazing fundraising effort!

Can’t be at the game? Here’s how to .

The facilitates networking across member institutions and fosters collaboration among academic leaders. The program is designed to offer participants leadership development programming and broaden awareness of cutting-edge issues in the higher education landscape, such as challenges across disciplines, insights on leadership needs and emerging issues in organizational roles and structure.

The following faculty have been appointed for 2023:

Kristen Barnes

• , associate dean for faculty research and professor of law, College of Law;
• , associate dean, chair and professor, Public Administration and International Affairs Department, the Maxwell School;
• , associate dean of academic affairs and associate professor of public relations, the Newhouse School;
• , associate professor and Dean’s Professor of Community Engagement and founder and director of the Engaged Humanities Network, College of Arts and Sciences;
  

  Colleen Heflin

• , professor, senior associate dean for academic and faculty affairs, and director of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, School of Information Studies.

Hua Jiang

The University’s participants were selected from academic leaders having one to��two years in their current leadership roles and who have received foundational leadership training. Leaders from each of the 15 ACC institutions participate in three on-site sessions a year held at various participating university campuses. This year, the cohort will participate in on-site development opportunities at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University. ���ϲ����� will be hosting the ACC-ALN in June of 2023.

Brice Nordquist

The program provides an outstanding opportunity for academic leaders to expand their perspectives on issues facing higher education in concert with peers from��academic institutions across the Atlantic Coast Conference, says , associate provost for faculty affairs.

Jennifer Stromer-Galley

“This is a wonderful leadership development and learning opportunity. It��permits attendees to collaborate professionally, share common concerns and learn about innovative ideas and emerging tactics they will need as they address the challenges of today’s academic environment,” Winders says. “Many difficult decisions are required to build great programs, departments and up-to-date approaches to academic excellence in higher education today, and this program reinforces the latest thinking in that arena.”

The 2021 MoM participants with SOURCE assistant director Odette Marie Rodriguez. From left to right: Daniel Nagle, Camila Tirado, Odette Marie Rodriguez, David Williams, Maggie Sardino and Michael “MP” Geiss

Students interested in attending this year’s conference need to apply by Wednesday, Jan. 25. All travel, lodging and meal expenses are funded for student presenters.

“The Meeting of the Minds Conference is a unique opportunity for undergraduate researchers to meet and connect with passionate students from across all ACC schools,” says Odette Marie Rodriguez, assistant director of the ���ϲ����� Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement (SOURCE). “Students not only have the opportunity to share their own original research and receive valuable feedback, but they will also have the chance to collaborate with students and faculty during a fast-paced and energetic weekend filled with presentations and lectures on new and innovative work happening across disciplines. The SOURCE is honored to be able to support exceptional student researchers in this remarkable opportunity.”

To apply, students submit an application and need to identify a faculty member mentor who will need to complete a recommendation on their behalf. It is important to note that both the and are due Thursday, Jan. 19.

A panel of ���ϲ����� faculty members and staff select the presenters based on the academic quality of the project, clarity of expression in the proposal, completeness of research/creative project, independence of the project and potential impact of the conference participation to help the student achieve their goals.

Daniel Nagle ’23, who is studying sport analytics in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, participated in MoM last year and found it a valuable academic experience.

Daniel Nagel presented on “Optimization of Formula 1 Driver Pairs.”

“I enjoyed being able to see research from a vast range of fields that I have no exposure or expertise in,” says Nagle, who presented on “Optimization of Formula 1 Driver Pairs.” “The ���ϲ����� staff prepared all of us to have strong presentations and specifically gave me very helpful feedback, which benefitted my honors presentation later in the spring.”

Other research and presentations last year included “Screening for Organic Micropollutants in Septic-Impacted Groundwater and Drinking Water Supplies on Long Island” by MP Geiss ‘23; “A Blueprint for Re-renewal: The Future of Public Housing” by Maggie Sardino ‘23; “Understanding the interaction between secondary cell wall biosynthesis and abiotic stress” by Camila Tirado ‘23 and “Transforming Education: A Digital Toolkit for Student Success” by David Williams ‘22.��

For more information about the 2023 MoM Conference, contact Kate Hanson, director of the SOURCE, at��khanso01@syr.edu��or visit the��.

2019 Hult Prize winners

���ϲ����� Libraries’ Blackstone LaunchPad is currently accepting and the . Applications for both competitions are due by Feb. 1, 2023.

Hult Prize Competition

��is a prestigious global business competition that challenges students to present products, services, technologies and other solutions to societal problems. This year’s challenge is “Redesigning Fashion.” All ���ϲ����� students are invited to pitch their idea on launching an innovative social venture in the clothing and fashion industry to make it more sustainable.

Competitors will be asked to align their business pitch with one or more of the , in the fashion industry’s value chain, form a team of 3-5 people (with no more than one team member from another university) and propose a solution with a measurable positive impact on people and the planet. Competition participants will give a five-minute pitch of their idea followed by questions from the panel of expert and innovative business professional judges at the University’s competition, being held the afternoon of Friday, Feb. 17, 2023.

Winners of the campus competition will advance to a regional competition for a chance to compete with international student teams for an opportunity to work with world class mentors and pitch at the United Nations for $1 million in investment. Past ���ϲ����� winners have gone on to compete in Toronto, Boston and San Francisco.

ACC InVenture Prize Competition

The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) InVenture Prize is a live televised student start-up pitch competition open to teams from the 15 colleges and universities in the (ACC) Academic Consortium. The ACC InVenture finals feature a $30,000 prize package and is open to undergraduate students or students who have received their undergraduate degree within the past year and who are the original creators, inventors or owners of the intellectual property underlying their invention.

���ϲ����� student startup teams can submit of a venture idea to participate in the ���ϲ����� campus qualifier, which will be held in Bird Library on Feb. 10, 2023, from 2 to 5 p.m.

Up to ten teams will be selected to participate in the ���ϲ����� campus qualifier. The winner will receive an all-expense paid trip to participate in the PBS-televised event held at Florida State University on March 29-30, 2023. ��They will also be invited to apply for LaunchPad Innovation Fund grants available through a gift to ���ϲ����� Libraries.

For more information on either competition, email LaunchPad@syr.edu.

Those from ���ϲ����� attending the ACC Academic Leaders Network meeting were, from left, Gladys McCormick, Ryan O. Williams, Kira Reed, Jamie Winders, Amy Criss, Marie Garland, Julie Hasenwinkel and Melissa Luke.

Five ���ϲ����� faculty leaders participated in the 2022 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Academic Leaders Network.�� The ACC Academic Leaders Network is designed to facilitate networking across member institutions and foster collaboration among academic leaders. ���ϲ�����’s 2022 participants are:

• Amy Criss, chair, psychology, College of Arts and Sciences
• Julie Hasenwinkel, chair, biomedical and chemical engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science
• Melissa Luke, provost faculty fellow, School of Education
• Gladys McCormick, associate dean, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
• Ryan Williams, associate dean, College of Professional Studies

���ϲ�����’s participants joined 90 faculty members and administrators from each of the 15 ACC universities. The ALN debuted in 2018 after ACC leaders decided to create a program that would leverage the diversity of innovation and ideas among the ACC’s many top-tier research universities. Each ACC school selects five faculty leaders—deans, department heads, associate provosts and other academic administrators—to join a year-long cohort focused on leadership development, collaboration and understanding of trends and challenges in higher education.

At the March 10–12 event on the Virginia Tech campus, participants enjoyed a dinner with Provost Cyril Clarke; a campus tour; networking activities; panel discussions about topics such as diversity, self-care and leading in a time of transition. They also met to build communities of practice centered around common challenges in higher education, like student mental health or recruitment and retention of diverse faculty members. Two more ACC Academic Leader Network conferences will take place later this year at Boston College and the University of Virginia.

Quinn King ’20 and Alec Gillinder ’20, alumni of the School of Design in the College of Visual and Performing Arts and co-founders of MedUX. The team won the 2019 campus qualifier competition and the $10,000 second place award in the ACC finals. (Photo taken prior to the COVID-19 pandemic)

���ϲ����� student startup teams can submit of a venture idea to participate in the ���ϲ����� campus qualifier, which will be held in Bird Library on Feb. 11 from 2 to 5 p.m. Up to 10 teams will be selected to participate in the campus qualifier. The winner will receive a cash prize and move on to participate in the PBS-televised event in Florida in April. Campus qualifier finalists will also be invited to apply for LaunchPad Innovation Fund grants available through a gift to SU Libraries.

Past ���ϲ����� contestants who participated in the final five live PBS-broadcast included: Kate Beckman ’17 G’18 (Newhouse School) founder of FreshU; Kayla Simon ’19 (College of Engineering and Computer Science) and Elizabeth Tarangelo ’19 (College of Engineering and Computer Science), co-founders of In-Spire; Alec Gillinder ’20 (College of Visual and Performing Arts’ School of Design) and Quinn King ’20 (VPA School of Design), co-founders of MedUX; and Russell Fearon ’20 G’21 (College of Engineering and Computer Science) and Ricardo Sanchez ’21 (VPA School of Design), co-founders of SugEx.

The Blackstone LaunchPad and Techstars at ���ϲ����� Libraries is the University’s innovation hub, connecting the entire campus resource-rich ecosystem with a global network that provides support for aspiring entrepreneurs, inventors and creators. The program serves faculty, staff, students and alumni across disciplines who are interested in innovation, invention, entrepreneurship, venture creation, careers, entrepreneurial skills, diversity, equity, inclusion and taking ideas from concept to commercialization. The program supports a key pillar of ���ϲ�����’s Academic Strategic Plan to create an innovation ecosystem across the institution that prepares participants to be trailblazers in an entrepreneurial world.

Those selected:

• Amy Criss, chair of psychology, College of Arts and Sciences
• Julie Hasenwinkel, chair of biomedical and chemical engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science
• Melissa Luke, provost faculty fellow, School of Education
• Gladys McCormick, associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion, Maxwell School
• Ryan Williams, associate dean, College of Professional Studies

“The higher education landscape changes quickly, and ���ϲ����� needs academic leaders who have a keen sense of current and emerging issues,” says Gretchen Ritter, vice chancellor and provost. “The ACC Academic Leadership Network provides this context in a setting that encourages collaboration across institutions. I am grateful that our faculty and administrative leaders are eager to invest in their own professional development.”

���ϲ����� participants were chosen from academic leaders who have one to two years in their current leadership role and have received foundational leadership training. Leaders from each ACC institution participate in three on-site sessions over the course of the year, held at different participating university campuses. This year’s class will travel to the campuses of Virginia Tech, Boston College and the University of Virginia.

“As a past participant, I can confidently say that this is an outstanding opportunity for some of our key academic leaders to broaden their perspectives in collaboration with peers from across the ACC,” says Jamie Winders, associate provost for faculty affairs. “Today’s leaders are faced with tough decisions and the need to innovate to build great departments, programs and approaches to academic excellence.�� This program is a unique opportunity to share knowledge across the 15 excellent institutions that make up the ACC.”

The will be held April 1-3, 2022, at the University of Virginia. Students from all disciplines can apply to present their original research or creative project, which must be under the mentorship of a faculty member.

���ϲ����� students can apply by completing a . The deadline to apply is Monday, Jan. 31. Faculty mentor recommendations are due Wednesday, Feb. 2.

The conference offers a distinctive academic experience and the opportunity to connect with other student researchers across the ACC.

“I’m thrilled that the Meeting of the Minds Conference returns to an in-person event this year,” says Kate Hanson, director of the ���ϲ����� Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement (The SOURCE). “It’s an amazing opportunity for bright and curious students from ACC schools to learn from each other’s innovative research and creative work across all disciplines.”

“Our students have an incredible experience each year at the Meeting of the Minds Conference. It’s a dynamic event featuring the best of undergraduate student research in all disciplines from the ACC institutions,” Hanson says. “Students have the opportunity to present their work, get valuable feedback, and meet students and faculty from across the ACC universities.”

A panel of ���ϲ����� faculty members select the presenters based on the academic quality of the project, clarity of expression in the proposal, completeness of research/creative project, independence of the project and potential impact of the conference participation to help the student achieve their goals.

Five ���ϲ����� students participated in last year’s conference, which was held virtually. Their research and presentations included “Russian Caviar: A Delicacy in Jeopardy;” “Roles of Routine, Flexibility and Gender in Online Freelancing;” “Evaluating the Functional Consequences of Novel Mutations in the Pantothenate Kinase 2 Gene;” “Understanding the Correlation Between Stressors and Academic Performance of Puerto Rican College Students in the United States During Hurricane María” and “Differential Reactions to African-American and Caucasian Women’s Postnatal Maternal Stress.”

For more information about the 2022 MoM Conference, contact Hanson at khanso01@syr.edu or visit the .

Two teams of University faculty and undergraduate students—and one potential alternate—will be selected to exhibit their creative and innovative projects at at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. on April 8-10, 2022. Project leaders should submit their proposals using the on or before July 6, 2021. Submitted projects will be reviewed by the ACCelerate planning team, the directors of the SOURCE and the ���ϲ����� Art Museum. Submissions will be evaluated based on the following ACCelerate criteria:

• Exhibits must have the potential to actively inform and engage the festival audience—including domestic and international visitors of all ages and backgrounds—about research or creative activities from ���ϲ�����.
• Exhibits should have ability to be engaging to a public audience despite placement in well-lit, noisy and high-traffic corridors.
• Installations must fit within a space that is 8 feet deep and 12 feet wide (8×12) with no need for wall hangings or other external support.
• Installations must be able to be assembled within four hours or less (evening before the festival).
• Installations cannot include water, open flames, insects, food, chemicals or gases (in order to protect museum objects).
• Exhibits should have enough personnel to staff the exhibit (may operate in shifts) from 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Fri. Apr. 8, 2022, through Sun. Apr. 10, 2022.
• Exhibit materials must be shipped to the museum (shipping information will be provided). Carry-in items in the museum are limited to those things that can fit in a briefcase or backpack and must go through a security check.
• Projects must include undergraduate students in the design and exhibit of the project. Faculty whose proposals are selected for participation in the festival but do not currently have undergraduate participants will work with Kate Hanson at the SOURCE to identify student partners and include them in exhibit design.

For consideration, please submit your exhibit description, budget, list of exhibit personnel, CV for the PI and Co-PI and any supplemental materials.�� Specific requirements can be found at the .

Selected projects will receive:

• A stipend of up to $5,000 per project from the Office of Research toward exhibit shipping expenses and personnel travel ($2,500 for one faculty member, $5,000 for two or more faculty members). Office of Research funding can only be used toward shipping costs and University faculty travel expenses.
• The SOURCE will provide travel funds of up to $1,500 for up to two��undergraduate students per project.
• Steering committee members will work with school and college dean’s offices of awarded faculty to identify additional funding for project expenses beyond the awards provided by the Office of Research and the SOURCE.

Questions can be directed to: Christina Leigh Docteur, Elisa Dekaney or Kate Hanson.

The Meeting of the Minds (MoM) Conference is an annual showcase of some of the most outstanding scholars from the Atlantic Coast Conference’s 15 institutions. Normally, the students present their research and creative work in-person at the host school.

Bronwyn Galloway ’21 was one of five ���ϲ����� students who participated in the ACC Meeting of the Minds Conference (photo courtesy of Thomas Joseph Shaw ’22).

But this year’s two-day event, hosted by the University of North Carolina, was held virtually because of the pandemic and students were asked to keep their presentations to five to eight minutes. The five ���ϲ����� students who presented at the conference were seniors Bronwyn Galloway, Emily Michaels, Ifeyinwa Ojukwu, Nicole Pacateque Rodriguez and Dorbor Tarley.

“Our representative students from ���ϲ����� each delivered polished and insightful presentations of their work that truly highlighted the range of innovative research being done by our undergraduates,” says Kate Hanson, director of the ���ϲ����� Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement (SOURCE). “It’s an interdisciplinary conference, so presenters must explain the significance of their work to a non-expert audience while also sharing the depth and nuance of their projects. Nicole, Dorbor, Bronwyn, Ify and Emily all achieved this balance in their extraordinary presentations.”

Galloway spent this past school year working on her 40-page thesis that explores the significance of caviar in Russian foodways and outlines the historical factors that led to the current decimated state of sturgeon populations worldwide. Galloway was allotted five minutes for her presentation and says it was “good practice to focus on the key points.”

“What Kate (Hanson) emphasized for our group was for everyone from SU to stay for the entire two-day conference and ask questions and attend other SU students’ presentations as if we were there,” Galloway says. “I appreciated that, and it made it more of an event instead of a five-minute slot.”

Nicole Pacateque Rodriguez’s virtual presentation examined the impact of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rican college students.

Pacateque Rodriguez’s research was about understanding the correlation between stressors and the academic performance of Puerto Rican college students in the United States during Hurricane Maria in 2017.

“It was a little scary when I first heard back, especially when I learned I had to summarize everything in eight minutes, but it went amazingly well,” Pacateque Rodriguez says. “I was very proud of my work, and I am very grateful I was able to share it with the rest of the conference.”

The students were selected by an internal ���ϲ����� committee to participate in the conference, which provides students with an opportunity to hone their research presentation skills. Here are the students, their projects and their faculty mentors:

• Bronwyn Galloway ’21, Russian language, literature and culture major, College of Arts and Sciences, Renée Crown University Honors Program. “Russian Caviar: A Delicacy in Jeopardy.” Faculty mentor: Professor Erika Haber.
• Emily Michaels ’21, psychology and information studies major, College of Arts and Sciences and School of Information Studies, Renée Crown University Honors Program. “Roles of Routine, Flexibility, and Gender in Online Freelancing.” Faculty mentor: Professor Steve Sawyer.
• Ifeyinwa Ojukwu ’21, biology and psychology major and public health minor, College of Arts and Sciences, Renée Crown University Honors Program. “Evaluating the Functional Consequences of Novel Mutations in the Pantothenate Kinase 2 Gene.” Faculty mentor: Associate Professor Frank Middleton (Upstate Medical University).
• Nicole Pacateque Rodriguez ’21, psychology major and sociology minor, College of Arts and Sciences and Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, McNair Scholars Program. “Understanding the correlation between stressors and academic performance of Puerto Rican college students in the United States during Hurricane María.” Faculty mentor: Professor Kevin Antshel.
• Dorbor Tarley ’21, human development and family science major, David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, Renée Crown University Honors Program, McNair Scholars Program. “Differential Reactions to African-American and Caucasian Women’s Postnatal Maternal Stress.” Faculty mentor: Associate Professor�� Matthew Mulvaney.

For Galloway, the MoM Conference was the culmination of a yearlong journey that started with finding a thesis topic that would merge her Russian major with her interest in food studies. Working with Haber, her mentor, Galloway focused on an ethnographic approach that explored the history of caviar from its emergence in Russian cuisine to its modern symbolism as the ultimate delicacy to its current jeopardized status because of habitat destruction and overfishing.

Bronwyn Galloway utilized an ethnographic approach to explore the history of caviar (photo courtesy of Thomas Joseph Shaw ’22).

“I’m really glad I was able to present my research to an external audience,” says Galloway, who has written a book manuscript on Russian cuisine that she’s hoping to publish eventually. “It was an honor to represent ���ϲ����� at the conference and even if it wasn’t the same as usual, Kate (Hanson) and everyone involved did their best to make it as special as they could.”

In her research on the connection between Hurricane Maria stressors and academic performance, Pacateque Rodriguez determined that the responses of governments and colleges to natural disasters should incorporate Psychological First Aid. The common thread through her presentation–and the other presentations from the ���ϲ����� students–was that their research is intended to make the world a better place, and that’s what the conference is all about.

“It was an amazing experience, and to be able to listen to students presenting on various topics was very educational,” Pacateque Rodriguez says. “I learned so much through this process and I am very grateful I was able to present in this conference.”

Russell Fearon and Ricardo Sanchez with the SugEx glucose monitoring device.

“We started in the Invent@SU accelerator as undergraduates and immediately began working with the tenacious team in the LaunchPad who incubate amazing entrepreneurs,” said Fearon, co-founder and CEO of SugEx. The SugEx team developed an initial prototype in the Invent@SU program for a wearable glucose monitoring device, based on Fearon’s own experience discovering he had diabetes while in college. They worked with the LaunchPad on a commercialization roadmap and along the way won a number of accolades, including a national health innovation award from the American Heart Association.

Fearon is now finishing his master’s degree in bioengineering and biomedical engineering after receiving his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering. “I am grateful for our supporters at SU, the World of Money and the American Heart Association, who continue to believe in the innovation of the SugEx Watch,” he added. “As tough as the road seems, I am determined to pioneer change for the millions of people in the diabetes community.”

The SugEx team has now won more than $60,000 for the invention in various competitions. “The capital earned for SugEx is a testament to our hustle mentality. We will keep this momentum as we represent ���ϲ����� in the next round.”

Co-founder and CTO Ricardo Sanchez, a fifth year industrial and interaction design student, said, “I am extremely humbled and excited to have this opportunity to propel SugEx forward and represent ���ϲ�����. I want to thank Invent@SU and the LaunchPad, as well as my professors in the School of Design for believing in us. I’d especially like to thank Diana Miller and Dr. Louise Manfredi for their support and advice throughout my journey.”

The SU competition was hosted by the LaunchPad at SU Libraries and featured a slate of “Elite Eight” teams vying for the title of top campus innovator. Competing in the campus qualifier were:

• Alexander Don ’22 (Whitman), founder of Cirus, a social media platform for people who prefer their voices rather than visual appearances to be valued.
• Ben Ford ’23 (Whitman), founder of DoNATION, an impact investment platform that matches people launching projects with donors who share similar interests.
• Bruno Gonzalez Hauger ’21 (Whitman), co-founder of Ambassadoor Technologies, a platform that connects local businesses with nano-influencers to catalyze engagement and brand growth.
• Cullen Kavanaugh ’22 (Whitman), co-founder of Spread, a mobile application for custom wagers on events between friends.
• Kyra Thomas ’21 (Engineering and Computer Science), co-founder of Signal, a company that creates technology solutions that solve issues related to accessibility and inclusion.
• Murray Lebovitz ’23 (Whitman), founder of Keep Coffee Casual, a network that is building a modern coffee culture through sustainability, inclusion and creativity.
• Sam Hollander ’22 (Whitman and Newhouse), founder of FSC, an alternative finance vehicle that is a simple, affordable and flexible solution to finance higher education.

This year’s campus judges brought a range of skills from industrial design to mechanical engineering, digital media and marketing, finance, investment and diversity and inclusion.

The ACC InVenture Prize Competition is the nations’ largest undergraduate student innovation competition. In addition to ���ϲ�����, teams from the 15 colleges and universities in the (ACC) Academic Consortium will participate in the televised “shark tank” competition.

��About the Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars at ���ϲ����� Libraries

The Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars at ���ϲ����� Libraries is the University’s innovation hub, connecting the entire campus resource-rich ecosystem with a global network that provides support for aspiring entrepreneurs, inventors, and creators.��The program serves faculty, staff, students, and alumni across disciplines who are interested in innovation, invention, entrepreneurship, venture creation, careers, entrepreneurial skills, diversity, equity, inclusion, and taking ideas from concept to commercialization. The program supports a key pillar of ���ϲ�����’s Academic Strategic Plan to create an innovation ecosystem across the institution that prepares participants to be trailblazers in an entrepreneurial world.

���ϲ����� Chancellor Kent Syverud will serve as the chair of the board, while Duke University President Vincent Price will serve as vice-chair, and ACC Commissioner John Swofford will also be the conference’s chief executive officer. The chair and vice-chair of the board will each serve an initial term of one year, and their respective successors will serve two-year terms.

“The 15 member institutions of the ACC shared a common vision that we needed a more nimble and modern governance system to meet the challenges currently facing collegiate athletics,” said Chancellor Syverud. “We are committed to further delivering fulfilling experiences for our student-athletes while also carrying out our broader academic, campus and community missions. I am delighted that we could coalesce so quickly around these priorities, which should provide us an effective platform for the successful stewardship of the conference in the years ahead.”

“I applaud our presidents and chancellors for taking this timely step to further modernize the league’s governance structure, which allows the presidents to be updated and involved on a real-time basis,” said Swofford. “This new structure best positions our conference to address the ever-changing landscape in college athletics, and I’m confident it will serve us well in the immediate and long-term future.”

In addition to the ACC Board of Directors, the newly constituted Executive Committee will include Chancellor Syverud and President Price, who will be joined by President James Clements (Clemson University), Chancellor Randy Woodson (North Carolina State University), President Neeli Bendapudi (University of Louisville) and President James Ryan (University of Virginia). The remaining members are represented on other key committees such as Finance, Audit and Autonomy, and will rotate onto the Executive Committee as terms expire.

The chair of the Faculty Athletic Representatives for the 2020-21 academic year will be Lissa Broome (University of North Carolina). Blake James (University of Miami) will be the chair of the Athletics Directors, and Vanessa Fuchs (Florida State University) will serve as the chair of the Senior Woman Administrators.

Last year’s campus winners, Quinn King and Alec Gillinder, co-founders of MedUX. King and Gillinder went on to win second place in the ACC finals. Since then, their venture has taken off, secured investment and will soon launch commercially.

“I believe that in the modern era, anyone can start a scalable, high-growth company and every metropolitan area should have a thriving startup community,” said M&T Bank Regional President Allen Naples. “By helping ���ϲ����� host the InVenture Prize Challenge, we’re investing in the exceptional creativity and ingenuity of our students and doubling down on our efforts to build our entrepreneurial community into one that generates jobs and prosperity for generations to come.”

Last year, ���ϲ����� campus winner MedUX went on to compete in the finals at North Carolina State University. MedUX co-founders, Alec Gillinder ’20 and Quinn King ’20, both College of Visual and Performing Arts School of Design students, won second place overall, including a $10,000 prize. The MedUX product is a wearable, portable intravenous delivery solution. Developed at Invent@SU and commercialized through the Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars at ���ϲ����� Libraries, the team filed two provisional patents and one full patent. They are now in a joint venture with a global company to commercially launch by summer 2020.

As an updated run-of-show was hurriedly distributed, on-air talent was expertly outfitted with mics, and graphics and video packages were prepared on an impressive display of computer and television screens, the casual observer could see that this was just another day at the office for those producing the game and accompanying studio shows, which broadcast live on the ACC Network Extra.

The thing that made it special? Pretty much everyone calling the shots for this particular production happened to be female.

Isis Young ’18, G’19 and ESPN’s Beth Mowins G’90 returned to campus to call the game.

The game broadcast was put on by Kristin Hennessey (producer), Laura Bailey (director), Ally Heath ’20 (technical director) and Kara Hitt G’20 (associate director), with technical positions filled by audio technician Summer Stubbmann ’23, graphics operator Melissa Thorne, stage manager Samantha Rothman ’20 and statistician Alyssa Lyons G’20.

Out of the Newhouse studios, director of the Newhouse Sports Media Center Olivia Stomski ’01 coordinated the pregame, halftime and postgame shows with the help of Mackenzie Pearce ’21 (producer), Maria Trivelpiece G’20 (director), Jenna Elique ’22 (associate director), Jillian Mitchell ’18 (technical director) and Roxanne Niezabytowski (engineer).

Rounding out the female-forward roster were studio show hosts Nicole Weaving ’20 and Jenna Fink ’21, feature reporter Michelle Knezovic G’20, and ESPN’s Beth Mowins G’90 and former ���ϲ����� women’s basketball student-athlete Isis Young ’18, G’19, who returned to campus to call the game courtside at the Dome.

But don’t think this production was a gimmick or a one-off. Thursday night’s crew was a reflection of a simple truth: more and more females are pursuing sports broadcasting, both behind and in front of the camera, and especially at ���ϲ�����.

Looking Back, Reaching Forward

Olivia Stomski ’01 in the production control room at the Newhouse studios.

“When I graduated from the Newhouse School in 2001 and walked into a production truck, there were no women in that truck,” says Stomski, reflecting on how the industry has changed over the past 20 years. “Now we have a whole team of female students who have these opportunities and work in these roles every day. This is just a chance to highlight it and shine a light on their achievements.”

“The whole environment has changed for women in production, women within talent space, women in sports in general,” echoes Meg Aronowitz, a coordinating producer who has spent her career working in college sports at ESPN. “And it’s not because of diversity and inclusion—it’s because of talent and acceptance and opportunity.”

As Hennessey, Stomski and others were putting together the Jan. 16 women’s basketball broadcast schedule several weeks back, it organically shaped up to be a mostly female crew, with women in all leadership positions. That’s when they decided to make a couple of phone calls to see if Mowins and Young were available to return to ���ϲ����� and call the game, elevating the significance of the occasion.

“Beth is not only a ���ϲ����� graduate but one of the most accomplished play-by-play people in the industry,” says ���ϲ����� Director of Athletics John Wildhack. “And Isis, as a recent grad with a budding career in sports television, having them both back on campus to call the game was really special.”

But, according to Hennessey, behind every on-air announcer are about 30 others—meaning there’s a lot more opportunity behind the camera than in front of it. “It’s great to have two females on the court so that everybody can see them,” she says. “But behind them there’s a staff of many.”

Kara Hitt G’20 and ���ϲ����� Athletics producer Kristin Hennessey prepare to go live with the game.

Graduate student Kara Hitt is one of those many. She worked as associate director of Thursday night’s game alongside Hennessey and others in the production control room at Newhouse 2.

“While having a lot of females in the control room is pretty typical of a ���ϲ����� broadcast, it was fun to have the opportunity to celebrate it,” Hitt says. She felt honored to have been part of what she called “a historic night” on the 16th. “For us, this is what we do and love to do, game in and game out. But to be able to do it all together and highlight the amazing work of these women was a special day that I won’t soon forget.”

Junior Mackenzie Pearce produced the studio shows under the oversight of Stomski, and Pearce estimates that she’s already been involved, in some capacity, with over 100 broadcasts. Pearce says she was a bit surprised when she learned that having an all-female “front bench” (defined as producer, director, technical director, associate director) for both the game production and studio production was something that hadn’t happened before.

“It feels like it’s been a long time coming,” she says. “All of the women involved in this production have worked in these roles before, have earned these roles, and have worked hard to get here.”

There’s No Place Like Newhouse

Producer Mackenzie Pearce ’21 preps for the pregame and halftime broadcasts, with on-air talent Nicole Weaving ’20 and Jenna Fink ’21 nearby.

The experience students gain in sports media at the Newhouse School is unparalleled, due largely to the school’s strong partnership with ���ϲ����� Athletics and, by extension, ACC Network. ���ϲ����� is the only university to produce live studio shows for ACC Network, all completely student-run, and everything is done at ESPN-caliber production standards.

Mowins, who earned her master’s degree at Newhouse in 1990 and has worked for ESPN since 1994, says that because of the supportive environment at ���ϲ�����, females can do pretty much any job in sportscasting so long as they have the skill set.

“���ϲ����� has really been at the forefront of the growth of females in this industry,” she says. “Newhouse students are provided so many opportunities in the classroom, outside the classroom and around town to really get a lot of practice and hone their craft.”

Young is just one semester removed from being an Orange student-athlete, so the vast industry exposure she received at Newhouse during her graduate career is fresh in her mind. “I’ve been in the studio, I’ve been an analyst, I came up with and hosted my own show where I interviewed my teammates, I’ve been a sideline reporter, I’ve worked with ACC Network,” she says. “I put the work in and had people around me who believed in me and supported me, and it has clearly paid off.”

This was Young’s first time analyzing a game in a professional, not student, capacity. And she says there’s no place she would have rather done it than ’Cuse: “This is my college home. I feel comfortable here. And it was a great opportunity to call two excellent teams.”

According to Stomski, when students—regardless of gender—come through the Newhouse School with a focus on sports journalism, they leave on the fast track to a successful career in sportscasting.

“They’re graduating with real-life experience and, because of that, they’re not necessarily starting their careers on the ground level,” she says. “They’re starting in the middle, because it says on their résumé that they’ve produced 25 or 35 or 45 studio shows that have aired on ESPN.”

The crew behind the Jan. 16 broadcast. Back row (left to right): Ally Heath ’20, Alyssa Lyons G’20, Kara Hitt G’20, Samantha Rothman ’20, Michelle Knezovic G’20, Nicole Weaving ’20, Melissa Thorne, Jenna Fink ’21, Jenna Elique ’22, Isha Battu ’20, Jillian Mitchell ’18, Roxanne Niezabytowski, Summer Stubbmann ’23. Front row (left to right): Laura Bailey, Kristin Hennessey, Mackenzie Pearce ’21, Beth Mowins G’90, Isis Young ’18, G’19, Maria Trivelpiece G’20 and Olivia Stomski ’01.

The Future Is Female

While they’re proud to have more women than ever in the control room and happy to honor this groundbreaking moment for women in sports broadcasting, Stomski and others look forward to a day when a female-dominated broadcast isn’t something to be celebrated, but simply the norm.

“I strive to be the best producer I can be for every game, not the best female producer. I don’t want to be the best female anything. I want to be the best professor, the best director, the best producer, period,” says Stomski. “If that means I’m a role model for female students, great. If it means I’m a role model for male students, great. I hope that I teach all of my students that it really doesn’t matter, and that someday we don’t even think about gender.”

“This broadcast shows the next generation of women that this is attainable, that a crew full of females doesn’t have to be some pie-in-the-sky idea,” adds Hennessey. “This can become the norm within all broadcasts.”

The ���ϲ����� Athletics game-day production team on Jan. 16 was also composed of all females. From left to right: Video Director Jacquie Ontano, Marketing Assistant Corie Apodaca, Blue Cheer Coach Francesca Beyer-Pike, Operations and Game Management Assistant Marisa DuVal, Athletic Communications Assistant Director Olivia Coiro, Athletics Communications Assistant Patricia Douglas and Marketing Coordinator Emily Quigley.

“It’s going to become commonplace because women have earned the right to be in these positions,” says ESPN’s Aronowitz. “They have the knowledge and experience, and they work their way up to sit in those chairs and call those games and do those jobs.”

Young couldn’t agree more. “I would love to come back for another all-female broadcast and have no one mention it because it’s just what we do now,” she says.

But on the night of the 16th, if even for a couple of moments during the hustle of the game production, they’re celebrating.

The 20 women involved in the broadcast gathered on the court of the Dome for a group photo before everyone went their separate ways to make the magic happen. After the photo, they huddled close and in true teammate spirit went hands-in: “1…2…3…LADY GANG!”

“I hope this production inspires young women and sends the message that if you love sports and you love television that you can accomplish anything you want,” says Wildhack. “And you can do it right here at ���ϲ����� at the Newhouse School.”

A member of ���ϲ�����’s All-Century Team, Morris’ No. 47 jersey was retired by the University in 2018.

Morris will join 13 other greats as honorees during the ACC Night of Legends at the Charlotte Convention Center on Friday, Dec. 6. The class will also be recognized during the on-field, pregame festivities at the 15th annual Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship Game set for Saturday, Dec. 7 at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium.

A four-year starter at running back for the Orange from 1978-81, Morris logged 813 carries for a team-record 4,299 yards (5.3 avg.) and 25 touchdowns. He also excelled as a kick returner, running back 40 kickoffs for 1,004 yards (25.1 avg.) and two scores.

Overall, Morris holds outright or shares 16 ���ϲ����� records, including the single-game (252 vs. Kansas, 1979), single-season (1,372 in 1979) and career rushing yardage marks. Additionally, he is the program’s all-time leader in rushing yards per game (113.1), 100-yard games (22) and all-purpose yards (5,581).

The Ayers, Massachusetts, native posted three 1,000-yard rushing seasons, including his rookie year of 1978 when he became the only freshman in team history to reach the milestone. Morris finished the campaign with 1,001 yards and was named ECAC Rookie of the Year.

The next season, Morris authored the finest one-year rushing performance in ���ϲ����� history. He ran for a school-record 1,372 yards and seven touchdowns on 238 carries (5.7 avg.). He also led the Orange to their first bowl victory in 18 years, closing the season with 155 yards to propel the Orange to a 31-7 triumph over McNeese State in the 1979 Independence Bowl.

Morris’s list of collegiate honors includes All-America certificates in 1979 and 1981, and the 1980 ECAC Offensive Player of the Year Award, an honor he shared with Yale’s Rich Diana, despite playing only six games because of injury.

Following his Orange career, Morris was selected by the New York Giants in the second round of the 1982 NFL Draft. He spent eight seasons (1982-88, 1991) in the NFL, including seven in New York. While with the Giants, Morris set franchise career rushing record with 5,296 yards (since broken). He was a two-time Pro Bowl selection and helped the team win its first Super Bowl title in 1986.

A member of ���ϲ�����’s All-Century Team, Morris’ No. 47 jersey was retired by the school in 2018.

Previous Orange standouts to be honored as ACC Football Legends include Floyd Little (2013), Art Monk (2014), Chris Gedney (2015), Tom Coughlin (2017) and Don McPherson (2018).

2019 ACC Football Legends Class
Joe Nash (1978-81), Boston College, DL

Brian Dawkins (1992-95), Clemson, FS

Christopher Port (1986-89), Duke, OT

Ron Sellers (1966-68), Florida State, FL

Derrick Morgan (2007-09), Georgia Tech, LB

Deion Branch (2000-01), Louisville, WR

Bernie Kosar (1983-84), Miami, QB

Julius Peppers (1998-2000), North Carolina, LB

Nate Irving (2006-10), NC State, LB

Rickey Jackson (1977-80), Pittsburgh, LB

Joe Morris (1978-81), ���ϲ�����, RB

Don Majkowski (1984-86), Virginia, QB

DeAngelo Hall (2001-03), Virginia Tech, CB

Bob McCreary (1958-60), Wake Forest, OT/DT

The four ���ϲ����� faculty members were identified in consultation with their deans and selected by Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs LaVonda N. Reed with Vice Chancellor and Provost Michele G. Wheatly. Associate Provost Reed serves as ���ϲ�����’s liaison to the Academic Leaders Network fellows program and also is a participant.

Those selected:

• Melissa Chessher, professor and chair of magazine, news and digital journalism in the Newhouse School
• Kishi Animashaun Ducre, associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion and associate professor of African American studies in the College of Arts and Sciences
• Brian Lonsway, provost faculty fellow, professor and graduate director in the School of Architecture
• Suzette Meléndez, teaching professor, director of the Children’s Rights and Family Law Clinic, and faculty director of inclusion initiatives in the College of Law

Fellows attend a series of conferences organized by the Academic Leaders Network and hosted by ACC member schools that build leadership capacity and highlight best practices in higher education policy and practice. Fellows tour the institutions and meet with the presidents and provosts of those universities, while attending presentations and networking with other fellows.

The first conference was held Oct. 3-5 at the University of Pittsburgh, with future conferences scheduled for Florida State University in February and North Carolina State University in May.

The ACC Academic Leaders Network provides faculty members with a way to gain valuable insights from educators at other institutions and learn about innovations in higher education. “This is a wonderful opportunity for faculty members who have had some leadership experience and are interested in learning more about paths in higher education to gain additional knowledge and see the possibilities for future leadership roles in academia,” Wheatly says. “The University is committed to investing in faculty development and providing ways for faculty to continue to thrive professionally and explore new roles that will strengthen our own university.”

In the control room at the Newhouse School studios, in front of the cameras and at the University’s Olympic venues, students have been involved in the producing, directing and operations, and the on-air hosting and analysis of more than 200 athletic events broadcast for the ACC Network Extra.

Mackenzie Pearce ’21 has helped produce 50 live ���ϲ����� Athletics half-time and post-game shows, and manages a 15-member student team, as executive producer. Isis Young ’18, G’19 worked behind the scenes on sports features and as an on-air analyst for men’s and women’s soccer and men’s basketball. Kent Paisley G’18 was an associate producer for basketball and softball games, as well as an on-air talent for women’s soccer and softball.

They are just three of the growing number of University students who have built substantial professional résumés and reels in sports production and journalism through a real-world opportunity from a partnership between ���ϲ����� and ESPN.

In the control room at the Newhouse School studios, in front of the cameras and at the University’s Olympic venues, students have been involved in the producing, directing and operations, and the on-air hosting and analysis of more than 200 athletic events broadcast for the ACC Network Extra (ACCNX), a digital platform on WatchESPN.

“This opportunity means the world to me and is something I am so proud to be a part of,” says Pearce, a dual major in broadcast and digital journalism in the Newhouse School and communication sciences and disorders in the College of Arts and Sciences. “I am one of a handful of students that can say they have produced studio shows for ESPN at 19 years old.”

Pearce, who was awarded the Beth Mowins ’90 Award in Broadcast Journalism at Newhouse in April, is in charge of coordinating with on-air talent, game production crew and studio staff to develop storylines, graphics and show formats.

“Before each show, we conduct pre-production meetings with the crew and on-air talent and provide feedback and critique to both production crew and on-air talent,” Pearce says.

Guided by faculty and staff

Olivia Stomski, left, director of the Sports Media Center in the Newhouse School, coaches student in the studio. (Photo by Kristin O’Grady G’18)

Students work under the guidance of professors and professional staff, who ultimately oversee the programming supplied to the ACCNX, to help deliver the programming to the digital platform. It is an opportunity unique to ���ϲ�����—the only school to provide live pregame, halftime and post-game shows for the network.

“Students are getting the opportunity to experience real live broadcast—the speed, the expectations, the pace of it,” says Olivia Stomski ’01, director of the Newhouse Sports Media Center and professor of practice of television, radio and film and of broadcast and digital journalism, who oversees the students’ work for the studio shows. “Our students are leaving here with 10, 15, 20 ESPN games on their reel. This isn’t college work; this is professional ESPN with a national audience.”

The students’ work also highlights ���ϲ�����’s student-athletes. “We have an opportunity to talk about our student-athletes and the work they are doing in the community or who they are as people, and we didn’t have that platform before,” Stomski says.

Learning laboratory

Students began working on the programming in fall 2017, after the launch of the ACCNX in 2016. With the installation of fiber optic lines from the University’s Olympic sport venues and the Dome to the Newhouse School, and with other renovations to Newhouse 2, the Department of Athletics was able to bolster its technological capabilities to meet the demands of an ESPN sports production—and put students among the latest equipment used in the industry.

“It’s an incredible learning laboratory,” says Neal Coffey, manager of operations and engineering at Newhouse. “We’re one of a few schools in the nation that has a communications program and a big athletic program, so it’s a great opportunity for students to see how a show is professionally produced and the end result on the air.”

With the launch today of the ACC Network, a 24/7 “linear” television channel, ESPN will staff the Newhouse studios with its professional staff to produce the television broadcast shows, during which small groups of students will be able to watch and learn from the production.

Newhouse faculty and the Department of Athletics staff who produce the sports programming supplied to the ACC Network Extra realized from the beginning that the partnership with ESPN would be a tremendous opportunity for students to learn and showcase their abilities.

Newhouse faculty and the Athletics Department staff who produce the sports programming supplied to the ACC Network Extra realized from the beginning that the partnership with ESPN would be a tremendous opportunity for students to learn and showcase their abilities.

“Experiential learning provides our students with hands-on experience producing live sporting events and studio shows, which prepares them to better compete when they enter the job market,” says John Wildhack ’80, director of athletics.

The results of the students’ hard work are being recognized.

“The quality of their work is very impressive. That reflects very well on them as individuals and on ���ϲ�����,” Wildhack says. “Many of the students who have worked on ACC Network productions in the first two years of its existence are now working for national networks, regional networks and other media outlets. The ACC Network provides great exposure for our student-athletes and gives students involved in the productions hands-on professional experience.”

High level of expectation

Students from Newhouse and across the University, both graduates and undergraduates, can participate, first as observers asking questions of the process. Students work as producers, directors, associate directors and on-air talent, or on the technical side, working with replay, audio or graphics. During the shows, faculty and staff guide students and give them advice. Newhouse adjunct Matt Park ’97 coaches all on-air students.

The high level of expectation for students also drives the professionals.

“It’s pushing us to make sure our students are prepared,” says Stomski, who has an extensive background in sports production with ESPN and FOX Sports. “We have to make sure our students are at that professional level before we put them on that platform—and they are.”

Daniel Kole, managing producer for the ACC Network and ESPN, says the students’ work has greatly enhanced the ACCNX productions.

“The ability for ���ϲ����� to rely on their student population to help produce live games has been essential to the success of the ACC Network Extra,” Kole says. “With over 1,000 live events occurring in the academic year across the digital platform, having a self-sufficient University production team allows for enhanced programming opportunities and events.”

From left, Tim Leonard, Jack McMullen and Mackenzie Pearce

The ACC Network recognizes the importance of providing such opportunities to students.

“Producing over 100 live ACCNE events last academic year, the ���ϲ����� team provides tangible and pertinent experiences for those students who wish to explore a career in television production,” Kole says. “Combining the experiences of the full-time ���ϲ����� production team members with ESPN personnel who work with their team for linear [television broadcast] games gives the Newhouse students one-on-one interaction with those that produce some of the biggest events in sports television.”

How it’s done at ESPN

As senior producer in the athletics production department, Scott Hecht leads the unit in its work, including all ACC Network productions. The work was very familiar to Hecht, who came to the University in 2017 after having managed university productions for the ESPN/SEC Network in Charlotte, North Carolina. He had earlier developed the process for teaching students production for ESPN3, a digital network, and later incorporated that into the SEC Network.

While producing for the ACC Network, Hecht is in the control room directing, while Kristin Hennessey, also with ���ϲ����� Athletics (and who formerly worked with ESPN and continues to freelance for the network), produces the show. They use the same terminology and processes as professional broadcast operations so students will feel comfortable once they land a job in sports broadcasting.

“We do conference calls with coaches. We hold production meetings with our talent,” Hecht says. “We teach students how we did it at ESPN. That puts our students so much further ahead of students elsewhere, and that’s why our students are getting the jobs.”

“In the last two years, we have placed about 20 to 25 students in television stations or at other universities, where they are calling games or producing games or working at ESPN, where they are production assistants,” Hecht says. “They are getting some great hands-on training, but they got there because of what we taught them at ���ϲ�����.”

Learn and grow

Paisley, who earned a graduate degree at Newhouse in television, radio and film, with a sports communications emphasis, is a digital content producer with the LPGA. He credits Hecht and Hennessey with giving him the opportunity to learn and grow.

Kent Paisley interviews Jin Young Ko, the world’s top women’s golfer, after her third round at The Evian Championship in July. She went on to win the tournament, her second major of the year.

“Scott gave me a certain degree of responsibility and leeway in terms of making decisions,” Paisley says, such as finding a statistic for the on-air talent that would add to their conversation and enhance the viewer’s experience.

The lessons have followed him in his professional life. “The rush of live television and having to think on the spot has been very helpful in terms of interviewing athletes,” Paisley says. “The ACC Network Extra experience was a great developing experience to learn what is and what isn’t important on sports television, and what’s important to the audience.”

Jack Patel ’18, who produced pregame and halftime shows for soccer, basketball, field hockey and lacrosse for the ACC Network Extra, continues to use the skills he learned at ���ϲ����� in his current position as a production assistant in the ESPN Next program. The Next program offers entry-level opportunities to experience many different aspects of the network. Patel focuses on the ESPN FC (soccer) program, which airs on the ESPN+ streaming service, cutting highlights and b-roll footage to go with news stories.

“The ACC Network Extra really helped launch my professional career because it gave me all the tools to succeed, especially now that I am at ESPN,” Patel says. “Not many students can say they have produced pregame shows that air on ESPN before they even graduate, and I am incredibly fortunate and grateful for that opportunity.”

Patel also recognized the faculty and staff who coached him through the process.

“I learned nearly all the ins and outs of the sports broadcasting industry from some of the best professionals in the business,” says Patel, who also noted how they helped connect him with other industry professionals. “As a result of that networking, I was able to put myself on the radar and stand out for such a big company like ESPN.”

Telling the stories

Young first started working with the ACCNX productions during the fall semester of her senior year, after speaking with Stomski. “I ended up doing a feature story on the men’s and women’s basketball strength conditioning coach, which appeared on the network during one of the men’s basketball games,” says Young, who received a bachelor’s degree in communication and rhetorical studies from the College of Visual and Performing Arts and a master’s degree in broadcast and digital journalism, with a sports emphasis, from the Newhouse School.

Drew Carter and Isis Young

“That experience allowed me to see both sides—creating content, being behind the scenes and putting together a feature package that interests people and tells stories,” Young says. “But also being in front of the camera, telling viewers why they should want to see this, that was electrifying. After that, I knew I wanted to be a broadcaster.”

During her graduate studies, Young, who played women’s basketball, continued to work calling games, developing content and following the players to watch for. One hectic experience had her playing with her team for their first game at 3 p.m. (which they won 85-49 over North Dakota) and then changing into a dress to do studio analysis for the men’s basketball game during the 6 p.m. pregame show—a 15-minute mad dash between the game at the Dome and the Newhouse studios.

“That experience encompassed everything that I’ve done at Newhouse—to take what I do as a basketball player and be on the other side as a sports broadcaster,” Young says.

As she finished her program this summer, Young interned with the Kraft Group, which owns the New England Patriots and the New England Revolution. Working with the ACCNX gave Young a professional experience that she has already started to leverage in interviews. “As a student, I did what broadcasters do in real life,” Young says. “All the work I’ve done looks professional because it is professional.”

The (ACCN) officially goes on the air today at 7 p.m. Owned and operated by ESPN in partnership with the Atlantic Coast Conference, the ACC Network is a new 24/7 national network dedicated to ACC sports. About 450 live contests—including��40 regular-season football games, 150 men’s and women’s basketball games, and 200 other regular-season competitions and tournament games from across the conference’s 27 sponsored sports—will be televised annually. In addition, the broadcast schedule includes a complement of news and information shows and original programming.

The ACC Network will provide greater exposure for all of ���ϲ�����’s teams and student-athletes and also offers all ���ϲ����� students the opportunity to gain professional experience in live event television production. The result for ���ϲ����� alumni and fans is more Orange coverage throughout the year.

The Orange women’s soccer team and first-year head coach Nicky Adams will make ���ϲ�����’s first appearance on the ACC Network when they open the season against Colgate at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 25, at the SU Soccer Stadium. The production will be historic in that it will be the first for the ACC Network that is produced out of a campus control room. Overall, the ACC Network will televise 20 field hockey, men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball games in its inaugural year, which represents the most national coverage of ACC fall sports ever.

In addition, fans can watch several ���ϲ����� contests on the network’s digital platform, ACC Network Extra (ACCNX), which will air more than 400 ACC live events this fall. ACCN and ACCNX on the ESPN app will only be available to subscribers with access to ACCN through their TV providers. All ACCN games will also be available on the ESPN app to authenticated cable subscribers.

Carriage agreements are in place with the following TV providers: DIRECTV, Google Fiber, Hulu Live TV, Optimum, PlayStation Vue, Suddenlink, Spectrum TV, TVision, Verizon Fios, members of the NCTC, NRTC, Vivicast and YouTube TV, among others.

Fans interested in learning more about ACCN can visit��.

���ϲ�����’s first appearance on the new ACC Network is Sunday, Aug. 25, at 7 p.m., when the Orange men’s soccer team opens the season against Colgate at the SU Soccer Stadium.

For the past three years, ���ϲ����� has been immersed in large-scale, campuswide infrastructure improvements to prepare for the launch of the ACC Network (ACCN). In partnership with ESPN, the ACCN will feature around-the-clock linear broadcasts of Atlantic Coast Conference athletic events and programming beginning today.

Work began in 2016 to allow the University to broadcast games on the ACC Network Extra (ACCNX), the digital-only predecessor to the ACCN that allows fans to stream games exclusively through the ESPN app. To meet the goal of being “TV-ready” for ACCN linear (that is, traditional) broadcasts in 2019, an extensive connectivity overhaul was needed, in addition to technology and equipment enhancements that improve the viewer’s experience and create a seamless, gold-standard production.

The story of how ���ϲ����� brought its campus infrastructure to the caliber required for professional-grade, linear broadcasts was no small feat—and in many ways encapsulates a spirit that carries through all of ���ϲ����� Athletics: a spirit of teamwork, innovation and thinking ahead.

It’s all about connectivity

The crux of the infrastructure upgrades needed for the ACCN was connectivity. Over a series of months back in 2017, the University installed an extensive network of fiber optic cable underground to connect seven Orange athletics facilities to Dick Clark Studios in the Newhouse School. The fiber (552 strands of it, to be exact) sends audio and video from the Dome, J.S. Coyne Stadium, the SU Soccer Stadium, the Skytop Softball Stadium, the Tennity Ice Pavilion and Gym A in the Women’s Building to the studios in Newhouse 2, which have served and will continue to serve as a primary control room for both linear and digital broadcasts on the ACCN and ACCNX. It also connects to a bureau camera room in Manley Field House that accommodates live pre- or post-game interviews with coaches and student-athletes at any time for ESPN and ACCN shows.

“We were already set up in a basic sense for multi-camera productions at several of our venues, but the connectivity upgrades really enhanced our camera positions and wired every single camera position for TV,” ���ϲ����� Athletics broadcast engineer Tom White explains. “We put fiber optic cables and power in each camera position at each venue, including where our play-by-play and color commentary talent is located, and it all feeds back to the control room at Newhouse.”

To bring the necessary ACCN connectivity upgrades to completion, ESPN was on campus earlier this year installing dedicated transmission lines from Newhouse 2 directly to the network’s headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut.

Upgrades at Newhouse and athletics venues help enhance the fan experience

The University’s ACC Network production control room in Dick Clark Studios in Newhouse 2.

Having state-of-the-art production studios at Newhouse that could serve as a central production room for ACCN broadcasts, without extensive upgrades, has been instrumental to getting ���ϲ����� broadcast-ready. While other ACC member institutions were likely faced with building control rooms from the ground up to support productions, the University had already renovated the Dick Clark Studios in a way that met many of the ACCN requirements.

“When we renovated the studios seven years ago, ���ϲ����� had just joined the ACC and there was talk about an ACC Network,” recalls Neal Coffey, manager of operations and engineering at Newhouse. “So I said, ‘What if we turned Newhouse into the communications hub for campus?’ We built it with the broadcast infrastructure and though we didn’t yet have the connectivity to the athletics venues, our control room was ready to go for a high-end sports broadcast.”

“This project relied heavily on Newhouse and their willingness to jump in and partner with us on the upgrades,” says Morey Mossovitz, associate athletics director for facilities and event operations. “They have beautiful studios and had already built a great foundation of professional equipment. We were able to go in and make the additional investments needed to bring the studio up to the standards required to do an ESPN-level linear production.”

Additional studio upgrades included installation of a replay device with a greater number of inputs and outputs to accommodate four different replay channels, an upgrade to the graphics systems, and installation of a higher-capacity router to handle the additional video sources from each venue.

At the athletics venues, the University had to ensure that the number of cameras met the five-camera minimum requirement for a linear broadcast set by ESPN. For some of these cameras, an investment was made in larger lenses to increase the ability to zoom in tight on specific visuals to enhance productions. “We’ve also added point-of-view cameras that can be set up in a field hockey goal or next to the back of a soccer goal, or positioned to shoot the rim in a basketball production. Small upgrades like this can really make a difference in the quality of the broadcast and how the viewer experiences the game,” says White.

“We live in an era where fans aren’t just streaming on their laptop or mobile device, but often playing content on their TV sets at enormous sizes,” says Mossovitz. “Because of the upgrades we did at the studios and the venues, there will be a dramatic visual difference.”

That said, there will be no discernible difference to the viewer between a digital broadcast (on ACC Network Extra) and a linear broadcast (on ACC Network) when it comes to ���ϲ����� Athletics productions. Because of the extent of the infrastructure investments the University has made, the technology can be leveraged no matter what kind of broadcast is being produced. “That will lead to ESPN and our partners being much more interested in taking ���ϲ����� games, because we’re a proven entity,” Mossovitz says. “We’ve shown that we have the right camera locations, we’ve proven that we can produce a seamless, high-quality broadcast.”

The future looks bright

Otto knows the direction in which the ACCN is heading.

When it comes to future and ongoing enhancements to sports broadcasting infrastructure, ���ϲ����� is well-positioned to stay ahead of the curve. “We’re in really good shape right now, but TV production and anything related to media or technology in the sports field will be constantly changing,” Mossovitz says. “Luckily, we have a lot of innovators on our team, like Tom and Neal. They consistently come up with ideas, new things to try, different ways of doing things to improve the end product, and all with the goal of being as cost-efficient as possible. One of the University’s tenets is being economically smart, and we mirror that in Athletics.”

One future enhancement that may be necessary is building out additional control rooms to accommodate more broadcasts. The 2018-19 academic year boasted more than 100 ���ϲ����� productions, and it’s anticipated that number will be exceeded in 2019-20.

“I can’t tell you how rewarding it is for me to stand in the back of the control room during a game and see the vision that we had for our studios a few years back come to life,” says Coffey. “We’ve been doing the digital broadcasts for two years now. We’re confident. We’re ready to go.”

“The teamwork that has gone into this project and the people I’ve worked with in Athletics and at Newhouse have been a joy,” White adds. “We all came together to get the work done, and I think we produce a pretty good end product here at ���ϲ�����.”

To learn more about the ACC Network, check out the launch story. To find a provider in your area, visit .

Syverud also serves as chair of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Ad Hoc Committee on Sports Wagering.

“I look forward to working with my fellow chancellors and presidents to support the ACC’s critical priorities, including the launch of the ACC Network. It represents great potential for our member schools to gain broader exposure for all of our programs and student-athletes,” says Syverud.

“The experienced leadership of our ACC member institutions is a big reason for our conference’s continued success,” says ACC Commissioner John Swofford. “I’m confident Chancellor Syverud’s vision will continue to enhance the Atlantic Coast Conference during the 2019-20 academic year.”

Alec Gillinder ’20 and Quinn King ’20 on the set of the ACC InVenture Prize Competition.

���ϲ����� students Alec Gillinder ’20 and Quinn King ’20 () have made it to the final five of the Competition. The elite finalists, selected from a field of ACC university semifinalists by a panel of industry experts and investors, will face off “Shark Tank”-style in a live PBS show televised from North Carolina State University today (Wednesday, April 17) at 8 p.m.

The finalists are:

• MedUX (���ϲ�����)
• DeLive (Notre Dame)
• Ethos Medical (Georgia Tech)
• InnoHealth Diagnostics (Florida State)
• MIST (University of Virginia)

The one-hour show, dubbed “The Battle of the Brains” between ACC universities, , starting at 8 p.m.

���ϲ����� students, faculty, staff and friends can help the home team by watching the live stream and voting for MedUX in the People’s Choice Award. Use the Text-In Number (770.637.3005) and use keyword MEDUX to vote by text or .

Voting will open around 8:40 p.m., after the last team has presented, and will remain open for only five minutes. One vote per device.

For those missing the live action, Central New York PBS affiliate WCNY will broadcast a recording of the finals on Sunday afternoon (April 21) across the New York state public broadcasting network.

The ACC InVenture Prize is a talent search for top student innovators at the 15 colleges and universities that are part of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Academic Consortium. The competition plays off the spirit of the ACC, with an emphasis on big ideas. While ACC teams regularly battle it out on athletic playing fields, the InVenture Prize offers the chance for students to meet on the innovation playing field.

This is the second time a ���ϲ����� team made it to the final five. Kate Beckman ’17, G’18 (Newhouse), founder of FreshU, made it to the final five in 2017.

The coordinates the campus qualifier and also mentors and coaches the teams that compete for the coveted title of top inventor.

MedUX developed its concept for a portable intravenous wearable at last summer and worked this past year with the LaunchPad on a commercialization strategy. The team has built a prototype; raised seed funding; won $47,000 in campus competitions; assembled an advisory team of industry; medical and product development experts; filed two provisional patents; and developed strategic relationships with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) consultants and commercialization partners who are ready to help take the product to market. Gillinder and King are currently filing their non-provisional patent and seeking mission-driven investors to help take them through the FDA Class I process, usability testing and production.

���ϲ�����’s participation is supported by the Office of the Provost to help students go toe-to-toe with their ACC peers for prize money to launch their next venture.

In addition to ���ϲ�����, the 15 participating ACC institutions are: Boston College, Clemson University, Duke University, Florida State University, Georgia Tech, North Carolina State University of Notre Dame, University of Louisville, University of Miami, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, University of Pittsburgh, University of Virginia, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University and Wake Forest University.

Quinn King and Alec Gillinder

A group of prominent judges—including investors, technologists, funders and successful entrepreneurs—selected College of Visual and Performing Arts School of Design students Quinn King (left) and Alec Gillinder (right) as winners of the prestigious ACC InVenture Prize at ���ϲ�����.

The senior industrial and interaction design majors won the award for an invention developed by MedUX, a medical product design and research firm they founded to create innovative solutions for inpatient, at home and mobile care. Their first invention—a lightweight, wearable, portable IV system—will allow patients to receive intravenous treatment quickly and efficiently while still allowing the patients to retain mobility.��It has potential applications in hospital settings, stand-alone infusion centers and home palliative care where a patient might need intravenous delivery and wants to be mobile.

King and Gillinder conceived the concept and first prototype in Invent@SU, where they won first place in summer 2018. Over this academic year, they further developed the product and business model working with the Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars at ���ϲ����� Libraries, along with mentors and industry experts.��After being selected “SU’s top innovators” in the campus ACC InVenture Prize competition, they will now be competing against student teams from other ACC member institutions, “Shark Tank”-style in the finals of the 4th annual ACC InVenture Prize Competition April 16-17 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“Medical products are often only designed for function and lack the consideration for the users’ needs,” says King. “The medical field is always evolving, and there is a need for better designed and considered products. Our company is flipping the approach of how to consider medical health care design.”

“Health care needs to consider patients as customers,” adds Gillinder. “Patients want mobility, more personal control, and health care providers want more innovative solutions.”

The team hopes to put their UX perspective as design students to work by developing a line of products that are considerate of the user, ergonomics and effective function. “We will be delivering products to our target market that help solve user needs,” says King. “Our company will accomplish this through extensive customer discovery with medical staff and patients to understand the problem and devise optimal solutions.”

The team is pursuing milestones that include completing patent work and seeking strategic partners.��They are already working with top experts and inventors in the medical device field on piloting their concept.��They are also being mentored by other experts, including VPA alumnus Gianfranco Zaccai ’70, co-founder of Continuum and a design pioneer known for championing a holistic and highly integrated approach to innovation research, design and development.

The ACC InVenture Prize is coordinated at ���ϲ����� by the Blackstone LaunchPad. ��The recent campus competition featured top ���ϲ����� inventors, including (in alphabetical order):�� Alec Gillinder and Quinn King, MedUX; Angelica O’Hare, Prioritage; Brianna Howard and Nikita Chatterjee, Paani; Caleb Obiagwu, SYRE Tech LLC; Daniel McMurray, SWIP; Emma Sargent, C29; Jaclyn Hingre, Halo; Jianqiu Jiang, Watson FitPet; Josh Jackson, Promptous; Matt Shumer, OptechVR; Michael Yacubov, Compress-Aid; Patrick Riolo, Artemis Wand; Peter Mignacca, TowelVAC; and Teodoro Delellis, GiraTech.

Judges included Dan Rickman, U.S. Small Business Administration; Danielle Taana Smith, Renée Crown University Honors Program; James Capparelli, Gardner and Capparelli CPAs; John Sangardten, M&T Bank; John Spatola, Lake Effect Applications; Lisa Spatola, Lake Effect Applications; Matt Gardner, Gardner and Capparelli CPAs; Ryan York, Pinnacle Investments; Scott Henry, Motion Leap; and Somak Chattopadhyay, Armory Square Ventures.

The judges selected Prioritage as the 2019 ���ϲ����� first alternate.

The MedUX team will be traveling to the championship finals with its ���ϲ����� coach, Linda Dickerson Hartsock, executive director of the Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars. They will compete against teams from Boston College, Clemson University, Duke University, Georgia Institute of Technology, North Carolina State University, the University of Louisville, the University of Miami, the University of North Carolina, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Virginia, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and Wake Forest University.

During the two rounds of the competition at NC State, judges will evaluate each team on their quality of idea, business model, entrepreneurship and probability of success. The final round will be broadcast live by PBS affiliates along the East Coast. While in Raleigh, student participants will engage in a variety of innovation and startup activities and will present their work following the final competition to audience members, the public and potential investors.

To learn more about the ACC InVenture Prize, visit

Last year, ���ϲ����� entrepreneur Kate Beckman ’17, founder of FreshU and now a graduate student in the Newhouse School, made it to the final five of the InVenture competition at Georgia Tech, which was broadcast live and streamed by PBS.

The InVenture Prize Competition offers the only chance for ACC student innovators and inventors to compete in a televised pitch event in front of a live audience. Last year, ���ϲ����� entrepreneur Kate Beckman ’17, founder of FreshU and now a graduate student in the , made it to the final five at Georgia Tech, which was broadcast live and streamed by PBS.

The Blackstone LaunchPad at Bird Library will be hosting the campus qualifier to pick the top team to represent ���ϲ�����.�� are due Feb. 9, with a campus pitch competition on Feb. 16.��The winning team selected by a panel of judges will receive an all-expense-paid trip to Georgia Tech in Atlanta for the finals April 5-6, and a chance to compete for $30,000 in prize funding.

“���ϲ����� has a very long and impressive culture and track record of innovation and entrepreneurship,” says Vice Chancellor and Provost Michele Wheatly. “This is a great opportunity for our incredibly talented students and recent graduates to go toe-to-toe with their ACC peers for prize money to launch their next venture.”

David Seaman, dean of libraries and University Librarian, adds, “���ϲ����� Libraries are delighted to enhance the entrepreneurship ecosystem at ���ϲ����� through the successful mentoring and expert advice provided by the Blackstone LaunchPad on the first floor of Bird Library, and the lively community of students who use this innovation space day and night.”

In addition to ���ϲ�����, the 15 participating colleges are: Boston College, Clemson University, Duke University, Florida State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, North Carolina State, University of Notre Dame, University of Louisville, University of Miami, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, University of Pittsburgh, University of Virginia, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University and Wake Forest University.

Eligibility requirements:

• Each university finalist team may be composed of full-time, degree-seeking undergraduate students or recent graduates of the university within one year of graduation from their undergraduate program.
• If a team member is a recent graduate of the university, the idea for the invention must have been initially conceived while the student was enrolled as an undergraduate.
• Full-time, degree-seeking undergraduate students must comprise at least 50 percent of the registered team members. Individual teams with only one student are eligible to compete.
• Teams with generated revenue or venture capital funding in excess of $100,000 are not eligible to compete.
• Entrants should be the original creators, inventors or owners of the intellectual property (IP) underlying their invention. Any co-invention with non-students or any other third party outside the university must be fully disclosed during registration to determine if the outside contribution was substantial. A team whose idea or invention qualifies as university-owned IP is not eligible to enter.

Applications may be . Applicants selected for the ���ϲ����� competition will create a pitch deck for the campus competition. Coaching in advance of the campus finals is available through the Blackstone LaunchPad and the Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship’s Couri Hatchery.�� Students who participated in are strongly encouraged to apply.

Students may make appointments to meet at the Blackstone LaunchPad with experts from the U.S. Small Business Administration and New York State Small Business Development Center for technical assistance. Appointments for coaching or meetings with business advisors or professional service providers can be made by e-mail: launchpad@syr.edu.

About ���ϲ�����

Founded��in 1870, ���ϲ����� is a private international research university��dedicated to advancing knowledge and fostering student success through teaching��excellence,��rigorous scholarship and interdisciplinary research. Comprising 11��academic schools and colleges, the University has a long legacy of excellence��in the liberal arts, sciences and��professional disciplines that prepares��students for the complex challenges and emerging opportunities of a rapidly��changing world. Students enjoy the resources of a 270-acre main��campus and��extended campus venues in major national metropolitan hubs and across three��continents. ���ϲ�����’s student body is among the most diverse for an��institution of its��kind across multiple dimensions, and students typically represent��all 50 states and more than 100 countries. ���ϲ����� also has a long legacy of��supporting veterans and is home to��the nationally recognized Institute for��Veterans and Military Families, the first university-based institute in the��U.S. focused on addressing the unique needs of veterans and their��families.

During the 2017 ACC Meeting of the Minds conference, Evan Weiss ’19 describes his research on how various brands of basketballs have an impact on the outcome of a college basketball game.

Evan Weiss ’19 would highly encourage other students who are involved in research or creative work to try out for a distinctive academic event for a select group of students from only 15 universities: the ACC Meeting of the Minds (M.o.M.) Conference.

The conference showcases the research and creative work of undergraduates from the ACC’s 15 schools. This year’s conference will be held April 6-8 at Boston College.

Weiss, a sport analytics major in the , presented at last year’s conference at Duke University on his research on how various brands of basketballs (Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, etc.) have an impact on the outcome of the game in college basketball. The conference was a memorable event for him.

“My biggest take-away from the Meeting of the Minds Conference was that there is some really great research being done from schools across the country, and I was blessed to be able to learn from other students and try to get a better understanding of work that is being done outside of my normal area of study,” says Weiss, who worked with faculty mentor Rodney Paul, professor of sport management.

The networking also added to the experience. “I was able to make extremely valuable connections at the conference, and it was an experience that I will truly never forget,” he says.

Each of the ACC’s schools selects six undergraduates to present at the conference. Students of all disciplines can apply to present their original research or creative project, which needs to be under the mentorship of a faculty member.

���ϲ����� students can apply by completing a brief application at . The deadline to apply is Friday, Feb. 9.

“Students passionate about their research or creative work—like a script, architectural model, musical composition—should seriously consider this awesome opportunity for participating in the Meeting of the Minds conference,” says Provost Faculty Fellow Rochelle Ford, professor and chair of the Department of Public Relations in the . “Students will experience presenting their own work in preparation for the future, meet with other scholars and faculty members from across the ACC and learn about research and creative work in other fields.”

The event is also a way to showcase ���ϲ�����’s students and the important contributions in research and creative work they bring to their classrooms, labs, studios and fields of interest, she says.

A panel of ���ϲ����� faculty members select the winners based on the academic quality of the project, clarity of expression in the proposal, completeness of research/creative project, independence of project and relevance of project to program of study.

For more information about the 2018 M.o.M. Conference, contact Melissa Lowry at malowry@syr.edu.

About ���ϲ�����

Founded in 1870, ���ϲ����� is a private international research university dedicated to advancing knowledge and fostering student success through teaching excellence, rigorous scholarship and interdisciplinary research. Comprising 11 academic schools and colleges, the University has a long legacy of excellence in the liberal arts, sciences and professional disciplines that prepares students for the complex challenges and emerging opportunities of a rapidly changing world. Students enjoy the resources of a 270-acre main campus and extended campus venues in major national metropolitan hubs and across three continents. ���ϲ�����’s student body is among the most diverse for an institution of its kind across multiple dimensions, and students typically represent all 50 states and more than 100 countries. ���ϲ����� also has a long legacy of supporting veterans and is home to the nationally recognized Institute for Veterans and Military Families, the first university-based institute in the U.S. focused on addressing the unique needs of veterans and their families. To learn more about ���ϲ�����, visit .

Artist Sam Van Aken’s Tree of��40 Fruit grows dozens of kinds of fruit.

Held at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 13-15, from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. each day, the event is programmed by Virginia Tech’s Institute for Creativity, Arts and Technology and the museum’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.

The event is free and showcases the 15 universities of the ACC in an opportunity for the schools to display their work to each other and, more importantly, to the public. In addition to the 47 featured interactive installations, the festival will include panel discussions and performances throughout the three days.

The festival will be featured on all three public floors in the west wing of the National Museum of American History, located on Constitution Avenue between 12th and 14th streets, NW, along the National Mall in Washington, D.C. There will be 47 interactive installations from across the 15 ACC schools around six thematic areas:

• civic engagement
• arts and technology
• sustainability and environment
• biomimetics
• health and body
• making and advanced manufacturing

Van Aken is a contemporary artist who works beyond traditional modes of art-making, crossing artistic genres and disciplines to develop new perspectives on such themes as communication, botany, agriculture, climatology and the ever-increasing impact of technology. At the ACCelerate Festival he will exhibit a tree from his Tree of 40 Fruit series. The Tree of 40 Fruit is a single grafted tree with the capacity to grow more than 40 different varieties of stone fruit, including peach, plum, apricot, nectarine, cherry and almond. Created by Van Aken through the process of grafting, the Tree of 40 Fruit appears as a normal fruit tree throughout the majority of the year until spring, when it blossoms in variegated tones of pink, white and crimson, and summer, when it becomes laden with a multitude of fruit.

Primarily composed of antique and native stone fruit varieties the Tree of 40 Fruit is a form of conservation, preserving rare, unknown or now forgotten cultivars that are not commercially available. Learn more at .

The ���ϲ����� team at the ACC Meeting of the Minds Conference held last year at ���ϲ�����. (Photo by Steve Sartori)

At last year’s ACC Meeting of the Minds Conference, José L. Marrero-Rosado ’17 discussed his research on the toxicity of two chemicals found in Onondaga Lake. The experience was a valuable way for him to refine his skills in presenting his work.

The conference, which showcases the research and creative work of select undergraduates from the ACC’s 15 schools, also allowed him to discover the depth of other student research from a variety of different fields and institutions.

“I met amazing scholars, but more importantly, I was able to learn what research looks like in fields I’m not familiar with, like art history,” says Marrero-Rosado, a dual biochemistry and anthropology major in the and the . “The Meeting of the Minds taught me that research is not just what happens in a lab bench but that it is much more than that. I left the conference with a new sense and value of what creating knowledge looks like.”

José L. Marrero-Rosado

Marrero-Rosado encourages students to apply to this year’s upcoming conference, being held this year at Duke University March 31-April 2. ���ϲ����� students can apply by completing a brief application at . ��The deadline to apply is Wednesday, Feb. 1.

Each of the ACC’s schools select six undergraduates to present at the conference. Students of all disciplines can apply to present their original research or creative project, which needs to be under the mentorship of a faculty member.

“The Meeting of the Minds conference represents a unique opportunity for students to gain experience in presenting their own ideas and findings, engaging with other students about their research, and interacting with faculty members from across the ACC,” says Associate Provost for Academic Affairs Jeffrey Stanton. “It is also a way to highlight the best of what our university has to offer and the wonderful contributions our students are making every day to research, creative work and academic knowledge.”

A panel of ���ϲ����� faculty members will select the winners based on the academic quality of the project, clarity of expression in the proposal, completeness of research/creative project, independence of project and relevance of project to program of study.

Marrero-Rosado ’s research was part of a collaboration under the research of John Hassett, chemistry professor at SUNY ESF; Jim Hewett, associate professor of biology in the College of Arts and Sciences; Katharine Lewis, associate professor of biology in the College of Arts and Sciences and Marrero-Rosado’s mentor; ��and Frank Middleton, associate professor at Upstate Medical University.

The Meeting of the Minds conference represents a unique opportunity for students to gain experience in presenting their own ideas and findings, engaging with other students about their research and interacting with faculty members from across the ACC.

��Associate Provost for Academic Affairs Jeffrey Stanton

At the Meeting of the Minds conference, Marrero-Rosado focused on research involving the toxicity of PXE and PTE, two chemicals found in Onondaga Lake, a federal superfund site that is being cleaned up after having been a site of industrial dumping. He presented results from his experiments using zebrafish in which he found these two chemicals were more toxic to the organisms than DDT, a banned insecticide.

“Moreover, I also found that both chemicals increase seizure susceptibility in zebrafish larvae,” Marrero-Rosado says. “These results are alarming, as these chemicals are not being monitored and the lake cleanup is ignoring their presence in the lake. Therefore, this research is expected to help the lake cleanup and detoxification.”

After presenting at the conference, Marrero-Rosado received useful feedback from other students and professors—feedback that helped him decide some of the later steps in his project.

“I was able to learn how to properly present my research to people with different levels of expertise in my field. This is crucial in any field of study, as research is worthless if it is kept to oneself,” Marrero-Rosado says. “The Meeting of the Minds prepared me to share my research with the public at other events��like the national Society of Toxicology conference I will be attending��in March.”

The conference was one of his most memorable experiences at ���ϲ����� and for those who might be interested in applying, Marrero-Rosado says, “Go for it!”

“The scholars, the staff, the speakers, the research … all of these, great in themselves, add together to create this unique and unforgettable experience that will help you grow as a student, scholar and individual,” Marrero-Rosado says.

For more information about the 2017 M.O.M. Conference, contact Melissa Lowry at malowry@syr.edu.