Engage 2020

This multi-day, virtual conference will help create new connections among Princeton innovators and leaders in entrepreneurship, industry, nonprofit organizations, and government in the state, regional and global innovation ecosystems. Engage 2020 brings together a roster of accomplished academics, inventors, and entrepreneurs from science, medicine, engineering, technology, social sciences and the arts, and external partners from government, businesses, finance, and organizations. The conference is presented by Princeton Innovation and campus partners.

Sessions featuring the Keller Center 

Educator-Entrepreneur: A Personal Journey

Wednesday, November 4 from 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EST

Hear Princeton's Andrea Goldsmith, new dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Arthur LeGrand Doty Professor of Electrical Engineering, talk about her personal experience as both a faculty member and technology entrepreneur and share her perspectives on innovation, entrepreneurship and stepping in to lead Princeton's engineering school in these times. Includes a Q&A led by Keller Center’s Director and Professor of Electrical Engineering Naveen Verma.

Empowering Citizens: The Princeton Gerrymandering Project

Thursday, November 5 from 1:00 PM - 1:45 PM EST

In 2021, thousands of state legislative districts and the entire House of Representatives will get new maps. The advent of big data and polarized politics makes it more important than ever to draw fair lines. In this timely panel less than 48 hours after Election Day 2020, Professor of Neuroscience Sam Wang along with Keller Innovation Forum Program alum and Princeton students founder of Representable.org Kyle Barnes ’22 and Preeti Iyer ’20 will discuss how their work provides tools to empower citizens to weigh in and become full partners in the process. The data tools of Representable.org started as a project for a Princeton class.

Ben Weiss and the Bai Brand Story

Thursday, November 5 from 6:00 PM - 6:55 PM EST

In his new book, Basementality, Princeton resident Ben Weiss shares how he built his antioxidant beverage brand Bai from a basement startup to an industry disruptor that was acquired for $1.7 billion by Dr Pepper Snapple Group. Ben, who launched Bai using the Princeton community as his test market, will discuss the mentality behind his success in an interview with University graduate students who founded The Crumpet Society, a quick-service food venture. Join us for a conversation with Ben about resilience, leadership, community – and the future of entrepreneurship. Ben is delighted to provide all ENGAGE 2020 conference registrants with a discount code of 30% of his new book Basementality, The Amazon discount code is: NDVC64JE. Also, to support our fantastic local bookshop, Labyrinth offers 10% off books by local authors. Co-sponsored by GradFUTURES (The Graduate School), the Keller Center, and the Princeton Public Library.

Overcome the Funding Hurdle: Funding My Clean Energy Startup

Friday November 6 from 3:00 PM - 3:55 PM EST

Social enterprises often face additional challenges raising funds. Hear from three companies in the clean energy space have raised funds, what worked for them and what their greatest challenges were. This panel features eLab alum Angelo Campus '16 and Steph Spiers *14.

Perspectives of Young Alumni: From Discovery to Entrepreneurship

Friday, November 6 from 4:00 PM - 4:55 PM EST

This panel will feature several young alumni who will explore how their Princeton experiences and discoveries as students led to their startup careers as young alumni founders.