Innovation and IP Virtual Event

IPO Education Foundation is pleased to host a three-part virtual, interactive event June 15, 12-2pm ET to introduce graduate students and postdoctoral scholars from underrepresented communities to careers in STEM and innovation featuring speakers from Corning Inc, General Electric, Micron, Pfizer, and Shell Oil Company. Students will also have the opportunity to learn about intellectual property, how it relates to the work that they do, as well as how to stand out to a corporate hiring manager.  Please register with the link below – attendance is limited. For questions, contact Foundation@ipo.org.

Laura Bugosh, Shell Oil Company

Laura Bugosh is currently Team Leader for Shell’s US Heavy Duty Diesel Engine Oils (HDDEO), Industrial, Transmission, and Coolants teams supporting the aggressive business growth objectives of Shell Lubricants business developing technology-leading and highly differentiated products.  She started with Shell as an intern at Shell Technology Center Houston (STCH) evaluating novel biomass processing technologies.  After graduating from Michigan State University with a Chemical Engineering degree, she joined the Deer Park site located on the Houston ship channel in 2007, where she gained refinery and chemical manufacturing experience as an Operations Support Engineer and as the Chemical Capital Focal Point.  Laura returned to STCH in 2012 in the Process Evaluation group, providing techno-economic guidance to a variety of projects on a global team and then served as Business Portfolio Advisor for two technology Vice Presidents (Downstream Novel Processes & New Energies Technology / Deepwater & Wells) before joining Shell’s Lubricants Technology team in 2018.

Caroline Crisafulli, The Ohio State University 

Caroline Crisafulli is Director of Innovation for Ohio State ADVANCE in the Office of Research at The Ohio State University. In this role she coaches and mentors faculty, postdoctoral scholars and graduate students as they explore commercialization as a way to amplify the impact of their research.  Crisafulli is a senior leader of REACH for Commercialization™, an evidence-based program that increases the representation and success of women innovators in academia. Crisafulli joined Ohio State from her previous role as co-founder and Vice President of Operations for Minimally Invasive Devices, Inc, a venture backed medical device startup. Her earlier career in healthcare management included healthcare policy, compliance, coding and reimbursement. Crisafulli earned a Bachelor of Science in Genetics and Development from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.  She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and is listed on 7 US patents.

David Kappos, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP

David Kappos is a partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP and IPO Education Foundation Board Member. He is a leader in the field of intellectual property, including IP management and strategy, the development of global IP norms, laws and practices as well as commercialization and enforcement of innovation-based assets. From 2009 to 2013, Mr. Kappos served as Under Secretary of Commerce and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).  In that role, he advised the President, the Secretary of Commerce and the Administration on IP policy matters.  Mr. Kappos led the Agency in dramatically reengineering its entire management and operational systems and its engagement with the global innovation community. He was instrumental in achieving the greatest legislative reform of the U.S. patent system in generations through passage and implementation of the LeahySmith American Invents Act, signed into law by President Obama in September 2011. Prior to leading the USPTO, Mr. Kappos held several executive posts in the legal department of IBM, the world’s largest patent holder. From 2003 to 2009, he served as the company’s Vice President and Assistant General Counsel for Intellectual Property. In that capacity, he managed global intellectual property activities for IBM, including all aspects of patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret protection. 

Anteneh Kebbede, General Electric

Anteneh is the Coatings Technology Manager at GE Research. He has extensive experience leading both internal and external research and development programs that have led to technology advancements in structural ceramics and coatings. He joined GE in June 1999. He led or contributed to teams that worked on a variety of materials and material process development programs. Early in his career a key area of focus for Anteneh was GE’s ceramic matrix composite (CMC) technology with major contributions to the development of the CMC material system that currently flies in the CFM International LEAP engine. Anteneh also developed repair concepts for CMCs. He continued to broaden his technical & leadership expertise with several roles that included project leadership of multidisciplinary teams that developed nanoengineered ceramic materials for high performance armor and ceramic materials for sodium ion batteries and for solid oxide fuel cells. His contributions have been recognized through the reception of two prestigious awards at GE Research. In 2011, he was promoted to become the Coatings Technology manager. Prior to joining GE Anteneh taught several engineering courses in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia for four years. Anteneh earned his PhD in Materials Science & Engineering from Penn State University. He received his Master’s from Queen’s University in Materials and Metallurgical & Engineering and his Bachelor’s from Addis Ababa University in Mechanical Engineering. He has 18 technical publications and 12 issued patents.

Shawn Markham, Corning Inc. 

Shawn Markham started working at Corning Inc. in 1991 upon her graduation from Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. She started in the Applied Process Engineering group in Corning NY. One of her early assignments brought her to Harrodsburg Kentucky to support the emerging fusion glass market. Shawn has focused her career on the fusion glass process, covering any and all applications for pristine flat glass. She was instrumental in the delivery of the first Gorilla composition for the iPhone. She has also supported the growth in volume, product sizes and thickness down to 100um spooled glass. Shawn has supported manufacturing globally as far back as 1996, supporting Korea, Japan, Taiwan and China thru the years.  She and her family lived in Kobe, Japan for several years on an expat assignment.  Shawn is an active participant in Corning’s IA/IP protection and has published multiple patents and trade secrets.

Mercedes Meyer, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Mercedes K. Meyer, Ph.D., is a partner in the Intellectual Property Group of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP’s Washington, DC office. She earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Bryn Mawr College, her Ph.D. in virology from the University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston and The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and her J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center. Mercedes is co-author with Professor David Hricik of Patent Ethics: Prosecution (4th ed., 2016-2017).  She has lectured in the past on bioethics, ethics, and patents especially in the areas of biotechnology, due diligence, prosecution, and inter partes matters. Mercedes is an active member of the Intellectual Property Owner’s Organization (IPO), a current vice chair of the Women in IP Committee of IPO and a current Board member of the IPO Education Foundation (IPOEF).  

Ibrahima Ndiaye, General Electric 

Dr. Ibrahima Ndiaye is a Technology Manager at GE Research, leading the Power Electronics organization with a team of power electronics, controls, power systems and hardware design experts. He has been with GE since 2013 and has worked with several GE businesses including GE Aviation and GE Renewable and with the Department of Energy on several programs including for distributed energy resources integration and for next generation of power transformers. Prior to joining GE, Dr. Ndiaye professional engineer in now Stantec QC Canada. He holds a Master and Ph.D in Electrical Engineering from the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Sciences from the University of Mohammed the 5th, Rabat, Morocco. Dr. Ndiaye research interests include HV/MV DC grid architectures, electric propulsion systems, next generation of power transformer, and integration of renewable energy resources.

Alexi Palmer, Pfizer

Alexi Palmer is currently a Senior Associate Scientist at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Inc. She works in the HCID (High-throughput Clinical Immunoassays and Diagnostics) Department within the BFA Automation Group. She does vaccine research and development and clinical testing. Within the last 6 years working at Pfizer, she has grown within the group; she is a manager, programmer, trainer, and a subject matter expert in sample processing, change controls, equipment validations and verifications. Alexi also supports Pfizer’s external client (PPD) to assist in project transfers and equipment updates. She graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 2015 with a Bachelors in Biology and a minor in Chemistry and then obtained a Masters degree in 2018 in Health Science with a concentration in Public Health. She is currently working on a Doctorate Degree in health Science with a concentration in Health Administration. While working for Pfizer, Alexi has also contributed to the COVID vaccine as she volunteered time and effort to clinical testing. She is also the Site Lead for the Colleague Resource Group Global Black Community that is facilitated through Pfizer where she works to build a community-wide support network allowing for the attraction, advocacy, and growth of talent at the Pearl River Site within the African American community.

G Radhakrishnan, Micron Technology

Gayathri Radhakrishnan is currently part of the investment team at Micron Ventures, investing from $100M AI fund. She invests in startups that are leveraging AI/ML to solve critical problems in the areas of Manufacturing, Healthcare, Automotive, AgTech and enabling technologies. Prior to that, she brings 20 years of multi-disciplinary experience across product management, product marketing, corporate strategy, M&A and venture investments. She has worked both at large Fortune 500 companies such as Dell and Corning and at startups. She was also an investor at Earlybird Venture Capital, a premier European venture capital fund based in Germany. She has a Masters in EE from The Ohio State University and MBA from INSEAD in France. She is also a Kauffman Fellow.