ecosVC® and their partners had a very engaging weekend at the 253rd American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition: Advanced Materials, Technologies, Systems & Processes in San Francisco, CA.

Judith participated in 3 presentations and 2 panels over 5 sessions, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and innovation in both research and in building the next generation of innovators. She was proud to co-organize a session in honor of Dr. Douglas Keszler, founder of the Center for Sustainable Materials Chemistry, an NSF-funded Center for Chemical Innovation that she has worked closely with for years as an innovation trainer. 

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Thursday

How Do We Teach Collaboration? Best Practices for Educating Future Researchers & Innovators

Presentation: Beyond the bench: Educating students in collaborative, innovative team science (with Jennie Amador, Michelle Dolgos and Douglas Keszler)

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Sunday

Golden Age of Industrial Chemistry

Presentation: Golden age of chemistry: The miracle of instant! Polaroid and the amazing chemistry and innovations of instant photography (with Larry Friedman). 

Symposium Honoring Doug Keszler for the 2017 ACS Award in Material Science

Materials Chemistry of Solutions & Solids for a Sustainable Future:  (session co-organized with Sophia Hayes and Bettye Maddux)

Chemists Leading the Charge: Chemists Using Business Acumen & Transformative Research to Address Societal Needs (session co-presided with Janet Bryant; co-organized with Sophia Hayes and Bettye Maddux)

Panel: Chemists Using Business Acumen & Transformative Research to Address Societal Needs (with Douglas Keszler, John Wager, Jim Abbott, Stephen Meyers, Bill Cowell and Janet Bryant). 

Panel: Research to innovation CSMC legacy: Training the next generation (with Michelle Dolgos, Jennie Amador, Juan-Carlos Ramos)

Sunday evening

2017 ACS Award in Material Science and Reception

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Tuesday

Producing Knowledgeable, Well-Rounded, T-Shaped Chemists for the 21st Century: Current Perspectives from High School, Undergraduate & Graduate Educators (session co-organized with Janet Bryant and Steve Graham)

Presentation: Transformational and innovative approaches to STEM graduate education – building T shaped professionals with a Lens of the Market® as well as a Lens of Science (with Michelle Dolgos, Martin Storksdieck and Rich Carter).

Judith Giordan presented at the 247th American Chemical Society National Meeting: Chemistry & Materials for Energy on March 18th, 2014. She presented Lens of the Market: Building innovations and innovators (PDF download) during the Best Practices in the Business Innovation Environment Session. 

Judy was honored to be a speaker at the 2013 HBCU Innovation Summit in Stanford, CA, on October 31, 2013. Her keynote presentation entitled "A Time of Brilliance: Solving Global Challenges using both the Lens of Research and the Lens of the Market" discusses the importance of developing innovators along with innovations, and how embracing diversity is critical for success. There is a personal change process when a researcher elects to take on the additional role of an innovator, and this is simply a new lens, the lens of the market that is added on to the researchers already highly developed lens of research. Developing a vocabulary and gaining knowledge about the market are the first steps in the process, and this is all highly achievable with the right training.

Download the slides here.

ACS Webinar, October 4, 2012.  Judy Giordan moderates.  "Like to develop your entrepreneurial spirit with the resources of a large corporation? Learn how you can be the change agent in your corporation!"

*The recording of this webinar is no longer available online

ACS Live Webinar, August 30, 2012.  Judy Giordan as speaker.  During the ACS National Meeting in Philadelphia in August 2012 Judy was featured in "The Introverts (and Shy Guys and Gals) Guide to Success in Science and Leadership."  Judy advises introverts to accept that they are indeed introverts and that they too can be extremely successful in any career they choose!  A must-see talk for any introvert!

*The recording of this live webinar is no longer available online

Judy presented "Intersection - The Planet, Careers, STEM and YOU" at Rutgers University to an audience of chemistry and engineering graduate students and faculty.  Judy's stressed that scientific solutions are needed to address major global issues, and that scientists and engineers are the key to these solutions!  Innovation is needed, meaning that the results of scientific research need to be translated to practical use and deployed effectively as solutions to market needs.

CSMC Webinar, May 17, 2012.  Judy Giordan moderates.  ​

Entering the workforce  is a major concern for graduate students nationwide.  Researchers reaching the end of their graduate education are confronted with fundamental questions of how best to continue their careers into technological industry.  Should one attempt to start or join a small company based upon his/her research, or should one join the ranks of a large, multinational corporation with well-established practices and partnerships?

What are the benefits of each approach to furthering a burgeoning career?  What should graduating researchers consider about their own personal goals and interests before pursuing a career in either a large company or a startup? 

Listen to Judy and distinguished panelists Dr. Stephen Meyers, Lead Engineer at Inpria Corporation, and Dr. Alicyn Rhoades, Industrial Marketing Manager for Thermoplastic Urethanes, at Bayer MaterialScience, LLC (BMS), take live audience questions on factors that influenced their early career choices.

ACS Webinar, April 5, 2012. Judy Giordan moderates. "Risks and rewards; learn what it takes to be part of the startup culture! Gain insights with Heidi Friedman, Boston Heart Diagnostics, and Dr. Chris Palatucci, Palatucci Executive Search, LLC."

*The recording of this webinar is no longer available online

ACS Webinar, April 21, 2011.  Judy Giordan as speaker. "How many revolutionary innovations began with that simple thought, “I wonder if…”. Have you had an idea, but weren’t sure if it would fly?  It takes science, business, and stamina to take on the high-risk but high-reward challenge of being an entrepreneur.  Judy Giordan walks you through the initial steps of becoming a successful entrepreneur – from idea to realization."

* Past ACS Webinars are only viewable by ACS members, login to watch!

Judy and Joseph were featured in an article in Mass High Tech: The Voice of New England Innovation on March 30, 2011.  In "Entrepreneurs help the next generation learn from their life lessons" Judy and Joseph explain some of the key issues that scientists moving into industry need to consider.

Judy counsels that "You need to understand what markets can you get into what price points and how much will they buy." She also advises that people think about their market strategy - "People think about, 'Look at my exit strategy', and, 'Here's my 30-second pitch.' We've sort of trained people to do pitches and that's unfortunate."

Judy expounds on her mother's idiom "don’t throw out the dirty water until you have clean water" - sometimes we need a change, and for change to happen we need to take action!  We all have times in our lives when we need to keep some "dirty water" around - a job we don't really like, a situation that isn't ideal - but so long as we acknowledge this is a temporary state and continue to move forward we can achieve our goals! 

Read the whole blog post here!