IdeaStream 2023

April 14, 2023
event

Looking toward the future, nearly 150 attendees joined the Deshpande Center at the Hyatt in Cambridge on April 14 to hear from MIT researchers developing cutting edge technology.

The annual conference featured speakers from past and present Deshpande projects, including keynote speaker Eric Paley — a cofounder of the first Deshpande spinout, Brontes, and now a general partner with Founder Collective. Paley recounted some of his experiences with commercialization as both an entrepreneur and investor. “Innovation comes in many forms — don’t overlook the obvious,” he advised.

Shreya Dave, CEO of Via Separations, also returned to speak on her experiences starting a company, including pivots the team had to make along the way.

The conference also highlighted projects from 16 active Deshpande grantee teams, working on technology in areas ranging from manufacturing to energy and the environment to health and medical care.

For videos of individual presentations, see the projects page here.

Photos by Gretchen Ertl

A large ballroom full of people sitting at tables. A man stands at the left making a presentation.
Leon Sandler, executive director of the Deshpande Center, addresses the early crowd at IdeaStream.
Leticia Cardoso de Costa discusses the chemistry behind her team’s technology to recycle thermoset plastics with Ed Greer (center) and Chuck Paul.
Jurģis Ruža (left) and Mingrou Xie present their project on a platform to discover zeolites for use as catalysts in processing.
Ravi Rasalingham speaks to the crowd about his team’s device to treat obstructive sleep apnea.
Michelle Dion (left) and principal investigator Natalie Artzi chat. Dion presented their project on a treatment for glioblastoma.
Technology Licensing Officer Jim Roberts, left, converses with Matias Gutierrez about his project for more efficient antibody drug discovery.
Catalyst Paul Blackborow (left) and grantee Jonathan MacArthur share a laugh as they discuss MacArthur’s project on CubeSat propulsion.