SU names GSP-09 students

July 30, 2009
  • Singularity University (SU) is announcing the 40 students participating in the inaugural Graduate Studies Program (GSP)
  • Students will use multiple social media channels to share insights and experiences throughout the GSP
  • Home towns, background, and education for each student are included in individual SU profile URLs
  • Twenty-five students received full or partial scholarships from Singularity University, and Singularity University Corporate Founding Sponsors, Google and ePlanet Ventures
  • GSP kicked off at NASA Ames, Moffett Field on June 29, 2009 and concludes August 28, 2009

Summary

Singularity University — the new academic institution with the goal of preparing the next generation of leaders to address “humanity’s grand challenges” — today named the 40 students participating in the inaugural Graduate Studies Program (GSP). Hailing from 13 countries, and from a cross-range of academic and business backgrounds, the students of Singularity University truly represent the next generation of leaders and innovators to address the major issues facing our world. And, throughout the summer program, students will share insights and daily experiences using social media channels, such as WordPress, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Picasa.

The summer class is composed of 26 men and 14 women, ranging in age from 22 to 47 years old. The 13 nations represented are: USA, Canada, Israel, United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, India, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Turkey, Czech Republic, and Russia.

Singularity University is modeled after the successful International Space University, founded at MIT in 1987, which has become one of the leading interdisciplinary, international and intercultural institutions for the study of space. The GSP is a nine-week graduate-level interdisciplinary curriculum designed to facilitate understanding, collaboration, and innovation across a broad range of carefully chosen scientific and technological disciplines whose developments are exponentially accelerating. SU summer program classes began June 29, 2009, based at NASA Ames Research Park on Moffett Field.

Highlights

“For more than a month, we’ve been working and participating in classes, lectures and events with the Graduate Studies Program students,” said Salim Ismail, Executive Director at Singularity University. “Their focus, entrepreneurship and experience led us to select them for the program. But, their dynamic thinking, innovative concepts, and drive to fundamentally change how we think and do things today is making even our world-class faculty and advisors take notice. Great things will come from these students — they are an impressive group.”

The Graduate Studies Program students include:

  • Alexander Bobrovnikov
    Hometown: Moscow, Russian Federation
    Track: Future Studies & Forecasting
    Education: Russian Federation, State University

  • Bentley Turner
    Hometown: Birmingham, Alabama, USA
    Track: Finance & Entrepreneurship
    Education: Birmingham Southern College

  • Bj Price
    Hometown: Orlando, Florida, USA
    Track: Artificial Intelligence & Robotics
    Education: University of Carolina at Chapel Hill; University of Central Florida

  • Christian Tom
    Hometown: New York, NY, USA
    Track: Policy, Law & Ethics
    Education: Stanford University

  • Collin Bockman
    Hometown: Okoboji, Iowa, USA
    Track: Policy, Law & Ethics
    Education: University of Iowa College of Law

  • Devin Fidler
    Hometown: Boulder, Colorado, USA
    Track: Future Studies & Forecasting
    Education: University of Colorado, Corvinus University

  • Gloria Vargas
    Hometown: London, United Kingdom
    Track: Finance & Entrepreneurship
    Education: George Mason University; Thunderbird School of Global Management

  • Gregory Wientjes
    Hometown: Stanford, California, USA
    Track: Networks & Computing Systems
    Education: Stanford University

  • Holley Abrams
    Hometown: Boise, Idaho, USA
    Track: Medicine, Neuroscience & Human Enhancement
    Education: Oregon State University; Charles University, First Faculty of Medicine

  • Jessica Scorpio
    Hometown: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    Track: Policy, Law & Ethics
    Education: Carleton University

  • Jovan Rebolledo
    Hometown: Coatepec, Veracruz, Mexico
    Track: Biotechnology & Bioinformatics
    Education: Kanazawa University

  • Justyna Zander
    Hometown: Poland
    Track: Networks & Computing Systems
    Education: Gdansk University of Technology; Technical University Berlin

  • Lale Basarir
    Hometown: Istanbul, Turkey
    Track: Future Studies & Forecasting
    Education: Istanbul Technical University, CCAC (California College of Arts & Crafts), Gazi University

  • Laurence Hayes
    Hometown: London, United Kingdom
    Track: Medicine, Neuroscience & Human Enhancement
    Education: Imperial College London & University of Exeter School of Law

  • Luke Hutchison
    Hometown: Torbay, Auckland, New Zealand
    Track: Artificial Intelligence & Robotics
    Education: MIT

  • Margo Liptsin
    Hometown: Mountain View, California, USA
    Track: Policy, Law & Ethics
    Education: Stanford University

  • Marianne Ryan
    Hometown: Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
    Track: Policy, Law & Ethics
    Education: University of Michigan; Yale Law School; Trinity College

  • Neil Thompson
    Hometown: Toronto, Canada
    Track: Finance & Entrepreneurship
    Education: UC Berkeley; London School of Economics; Queen’s University

  • Nitesh Banta
    Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
    Track: Finance & Entrepreneurship
    Education: Harvard University

  • Nuno Martins
    Hometown: Vieira do Minho, Portugal
    Track: Nanotechnology
    Education: University of Minho

  • Pankaj Maheshwari
    Hometown: Gwalior, India; Houston, Texas, USA
    Track: Finance & Entrepreneurship
    Education: NITIE, Mumbai

  • Paul Lem
    Hometown: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    Track: Biotechnology & Bioinformatics
    Education: University of Toronto

  • Rex Lee
    Hometown: South Korea
    Track: Nanotechnology
    Education: University of Waterloo

  • Rod Furlan
    Hometown: Delta, British Columbia, Canada
    Track: Networks & Computing Systems

  • Ross Shott
    Hometown: Houston, Texas, USA
    Track: Future Studies & Forecasting
    Education: Thomas Edison State College, University of Houston

  • Sam Zaid
    Hometown: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    Track: Artificial Intelligence & Robotics
    Education: Queen’s University

  • Santiago Hernandez
    Hometown: San Diego, California, United States
    Track: Medicine, Neuroscience & Human Enhancement
    Education: Stanford University; Case Western Reserve School of Medicine

  • Sarah Sclarsic
    Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
    Track: Policy, Law & Ethics
    Education: Harvard University; University of Michigan Medical School

  • Shai Machnes
    Hometown: Tel-Aviv, Israel
    Track: Space & Physical Sciences
    Education: Tel-Aviv University

  • Shawna Pandya
    Hometown: Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada
    Track: Medicine, Neuroscience & Human Enhancement
    Education: University of Alberta, International Space University

  • Simon Daniel
    Hometown: London, United Kingdom
    Track: Energy & Ecological Systems
    Education: Cambridge University

  • Sofya Yampolsky
    Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
    Track: Future Studies & Forecasting
    Education: Mass. College of Art & Design, The New School for Social Research

  • Tasha McCauley
    Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee, USA
    Track: Energy & Ecological Systems
    Education: Bard College; Vanderbilt University

  • Tim Coleman
    Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
    Track: Space & Physical Sciences
    Education: Bachelor of Arts in History, Georgetown University

  • Vijai Anma
    Hometown: Seattle, Washington, USA
    Track: Computer Science & Engineering
    Education: University of Madras

  • Yitzhack Schwartz
    Hometown: Haifia, Israel
    Track: Medicine, Neuroscience & Human Enhancement
    Education: Technion – Israel Institute of Technology

  • Yonatan Adiri
    Hometown: Herzlia, Israel
    Track: Policy, Law & Ethics
    Education: Open University

  • Zubin Wadia
    Hometown: Mumbai, India / White Plains, New York
    Track: Networks & Computing Systems
    Education: Pace University