The Huddle
Virtual program exploring our region’s innovative initiatives, ideas and resources
Upcoming Huddles:
February 27, 2025: Computing • May 15, 2025: Energy-Industrial
The Huddle is an invite-only, virtual speaker series that explores and connects our network with tech-enabling initiatives, ideas and resources for the Midwest/Great Lakes region. Check out past conversations on the 5 Lakes institute YouTube channel.
Target Audience: Leaders interested in our region’s ecosystem and opportunities.
Past Presenters:
Computing:
Hack OHI/O: Cal King, Program Director, OHI/0, The Ohio State University; NuVention: AI: David Zaretsky, instructor (also Chief Scientist and Founder, Snips Media; Assistant Chair and Associate Professor of ECE at Northwestern University); High Alpha Innovation. Matthew Brady, Managing Director; Super.tech Labs: Pranav Gokhale, CEO and Co-Founder; Midwest Quantum Collaboratory: Mack Kira, Director (also Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of Michigan) • Chicago Quantum Exchange: Kate Waimey Timmerman, Executive Director;
Energy-Industrial:
ClearFlame Engine Technologies: BJ Johnson, Co-founder and CEO; Nomadic Venture Partners: Batchimeg Ganbaatar, Managing Partner; University of Wisconsin - Stout: Seth Hudson, Executive Director, Corporate Relations and Economic Engagement, UW-Stout Discovery Center; Aaron Bialzik, Director, UW-Stout Manufacturing Outreach Center (MOC); MxD: Jela Trask, Senior Director, Product Strategy; Realta Fusion: Kieran Furlong, CEO; Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E): Sam Wurzel, Technology to Market Advisor, Fusion Energy Programs; University of Illinois: Kiruba Haran, Engineering/CS Professor (also NSF POETS ERC Center Director, and Hinetics LLC Founder/CTO); Galvin Center for Electricity Innovation Zuyi Li, Associate Director (also Illinois Institute of Technology Engineering Professor); Evergreen Climate Innovations. Allie Gross, Program Manager; International Academy of Automation Engineering: Mary Bunzel, Executive Director (also Intel Manufacturing IOT Council Leader); Rockwell Automation: Kyle Crum, Director, Advanced Technology; Wichita State: Tonya Witherspoon, Associate Vice President, Industry Engagement and Applied Learning • Deloitte: Michael Schlotterbeck, Smart Factory Senior Manager, for the Smart Factory @ Wichita collaboration; Whirlpool Corp: Leonel Leal, Director, Global Advanced Manufacturing Engineering
Food & Ag Tech:
Yield Lab Institute: Larry Taylor, Board Member at Yield Lab Institute and Managing Partner at Yield Lab Asia Pacific; Plug and Play Tech Center: Mark McAllister, Venture Associate, AgTech and Animal Health; Carrot Ventures: Jim Hardin, Managing Partner; AgVentures Alliance: Spencer Stensrude, Chief Executive Officer; AgLaunch: Sarah Varble, Director of Entrepreneurship; Grand Farm: Brian Carroll, Director; Ag Startup Engine: Kevin Kimle, Co-Director (also Rastetter Chair of Agricultural Entrepreneurship at Iowa State University); DIAL (Digital Innovation in Agri-Food Systems) Ventures: Allan Gray, Executive Director; Illinois AgTech Accelerator: Jack Marck, Managing Director
Human Health:
Novy: Eric Engelmann, Partner; Recode Edge: Tom Denison, COO, and CEO Smart Health Catalyzer; Equalize Startups: Nichole Mercier, Co-Founder; AyrFlo Innovation Labs: Guelay Bilen-Rosas, Founder, CEO; OSF Healthcare: Kip McCoy, Vice President, Innovation Studio; Medical Alley: Filip Kostal, Startup Principal; Portal Innovations: E.J. Reedy, Director, Platform and Ecosystem; Creative Destruction Lab Health and Wellness: Shabaka Gibson, Director; SmartHealth Catalyzer: Tom Denison, Co-founder, CEO; Center for Biomedical Informatics, University of Missouri Columbia: Peter Tonellato, Director; Epic Cosmos: Jackie Gerhart, Vice President, Clinical Informatics; Phil Lindemann, Vice President, Data and Research.
Other Accelerators and Investors:
Foothill Ventures: Eric Rosenblum, Managing Partner; gener8tor: Troy Vosseller, Co-Founder Cantos VC: Andrew Kirima, Analyst; Argonne National Laboratory Chain Reaction Innovations: Dick Co, Director; Mason Wells: Asif Naseem, Executive Operating Partner (also M+ Vision Visiting Fellow, MIT; Adjunct Professor, Michigan State University); HG Ventures: Ginger Rothrock, Senior Director; Ironspring Ventures: Ty Findley, Managing Partner; The Heritage Group Accelerator. Nida Ansari, Managing Director; Hub88: Kenn Miller, Founding Chairman; AlphaLab Gear: Matt Virlinich, Senior Program Manager, Manufacturing Programs; Creative Destruction Lab: Matthew Platt, Global Venture Recruitment Lead; Carnegie Mellon: Reed McManigle, Mentor in Residence; Senior Manager, Business Development and Licensing; IndieBio: Alex Kopelyan, Senior Director and Partner; Activate Anywhere: Calvin Cupini, Senior Investment Manager, Activate; Impact Science Ventures: Robert Ethier, Co-founder and Managing Partner; Newlab Detroit: Carlos Trevino, Vice President, Products and Programs, Newlab
More:
Midwest Startup City Rankings: Victor Gutwein, Founder and Managing Partner, M25; Block Center for Technology and Society: Steve Wray, Executive Director; Columbus Dispatch: Mark Williams, Business Reporter; University at Buffalo: Richard Kim, Director of Startup Ventures; Mentors in Tech (MinT). Kevin Wang, Founder; Michigan State: Rich Chylla, Past Chair, AUTM and Executive Director MSU Technologies
For more information, or to discuss an invitation to attend, contact:
Kathleen Gallagher, 5 Lakes Institute Executive Director: kathleen@5lakesinstitute.org
Tim Honaker, Midwest University Research Network (MRUN) President: thonaker@mrun.us