Opening Keynote
ASTC 2022 Annual Conference
September 12–15, 2022
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
“Small Talks/Big Ideas”
Monday, September 12, 2022
9:00 am ET
Several world-leading Pittsburgh-based experts and innovators who will share some of the cutting-edge work they are doing in science, learning, and social impact. These short, inspirational, TED-style presentations will remind us of one of our critical roles as science center, museum, and science engagement leaders—to provide people with inspiration and understanding that a more hopeful future is possible!
Aditi Gurkar, PhD (@healthspan_AUG), is Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Aging Institute and Division of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. Her laboratory’s interest is in understanding the biology of aging and age-related disease and aims to identify fundamental mechanisms of aging that can potentially lead to novel strategies to delay the rate of ‘biological’ aging. Outside of the lab, Dr. Gurkar is involved in community outreach programs and loves to make science education fun for kids. She earned an undergraduate degree in biology from Florida International University and a PhD from Boston University School of Medicine–and completed postdoctoral research at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the Scripps Research Institution. She was honored with a Pathway to Independence grant from the National Institutes of Health and was named to TEDxPittsburgh’s list of Brilliant and Bold Women in 2019.
Valerie Kinloch, PhD (@ValerieKinloch), began her tenure as the Renée and Richard Goldman Endowed Dean and Professor of the University of Pittsburgh School of Education in July 2017. Under her leadership, the school has strengthened its commitments to equity, justice, and innovation by focusing on teaching, research, community engagement, academic programs, student success, faculty development, and alumni involvement. Among her many professional appointments, Dean Kinloch is President of the National Council of Teachers of English, a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), a Fellow of the American Council on Education (ACE), a member of the Board of Trustees of Johnson C. Smith University (her undergraduate alma mater), and Co-Chair of Remake Learning. Dean Kinloch is the author and co-editor of numerous books and publications on race, place, identities, literacies, and justice, including the newly released Where is the Justice? Engaged Pedagogies in Schools and Communities and the critically acclaimed and award-winning Harlem on Our Minds: Place, Race, and the Literacies of Urban Youth. She holds a B.A. in English from Johnson C. Smith University, and an M.A. in English and African American literature, and a Ph.D. in English and Composition Studies with a cognate in Urban Studies from Wayne State University. Currently, she is working on projects focused on transformative leadership and justice-directed community-engaged initiatives.
Bill Strickland is the founder of Manchester Bidwell Corporation (MBC), an educational model designed to create empowering educational environments for adults-in-transition as well as a diverse population of youth in the Pittsburgh region. Having passed on the leadership and operations of MBC to the next generation of educators and artists, today Bill serves as Founder and Executive Chairman of MBC and its subsidiaries, Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild (MCG) and Bidwell Training Center (BTC). In 1968, Bill founded MCG to help combat the economic and social devastation experienced by the residents of his North Side neighborhood. Later in 1972, he assumed leadership of BTC to guide its transition to providing skills relevant to Pittsburgh’s economy. GRAMMY®-winning MCG Jazz founded in 1987, which is one of the longest-running jazz subscription series in America. What started as an informal art program and exhibition space has now transformed into a 62,000 sq. ft. arts and career-training center, which today also includes a 40,000 sq. ft. production and educational greenhouse. Throughout Strickland’s distinguished career, he has been honored with numerous prestigious awards for his contributions to arts and the community, including the coveted MacArthur “Genius” award. He is also the author of Make the Impossible Possible.
Anouk Wipprecht (@AnoukWipprecht) is a Dutch FashionTech designer who creates designs ahead of her time; combining the latest in science and technology to make fashion an experience that transcends mere appearances. She wants her garments to facilitate and augment the interactions we have with ourselves and our surroundings. Her Spider Dress is a perfect example of this aesthetic, where sensors and moveable arms on the dress help to create a more defined boundary of personal space while employing a fierce style. Partnering up with companies such as Intel, AutoDesk, Google, Arduino, Microsoft, Samsung, Adobe, Adidas, Cirque Du Soleil, Audi, Disney, Swarovski, and 3D printing companies she researches how our future would look as we continue to embed technology into what we wear, and more importantly—how this will change our perspective on how we will interface with technology.