Forward Faster Ritchie School at the University of Denver

Episode 3: How do they get the science right in movies? Production teams talk with the NSA's The Science and Entertainment Exchange (http://scienceandentertainmentexchange.org/) to connect with top scientist and engineers to create engaging and accurate stories. During this episode Dean Holston talks with the NSA's Deputy Director of Communications, Ann Merchant, who heads the Exchange and the efforts to bring accurate science to our communities. Listen into a fun conversation about what it means to lay at the intersection of science and entertainment.

Are robots really going to take away jobs? Elizabeth Reynolds, Executive Director of MIT's Industrial Performance Center stops by the studio on the way back home from Brazil for a chat with former Dean Holston. Dr. Reynolds's discusses her collaborative interdisciplinary work around the relationship between technology and work today, the future of work, and the digital divide.
 
About Elizabeth Reynolds
Elisabeth Reynolds is the executive director of the MIT Industrial Performance Center and a lecturer in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning. Reynolds works on issues related to systems of innovation, regional economic development and industrial competitiveness. She is a member of the Massachusetts Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative as well as the Northeast Clean Energy Council. Her current research focuses on the pathways that US entrepreneurial firms take in scaling production-related technologies, as well as advanced manufacturing, including the globalization of the biomanufacturing industry. Before coming to MIT for her PhD, Reynolds was the director of the City Advisory Practice at the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC), a non-profit founded by Professor Michael Porter, focused on job and business growth in urban areas. Reynolds has an AB from Harvard in government and was a Fiske Scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge. She holds an MSc from the University of Montreal in economics and a PhD from MIT in urban and regional studies.

Girls Scouts, the Obama administration, and computer science in public school. What do these three things have in common? The answer is the amazing Ruthe Farmer. Learn about how this communications specialist became and evangelist for bringing computer science to all. In this episode former Dean JB Holston and Ruthe Farmer discuss her work, her passions, and how to bring Computer Science to public school classrooms.
About Ruthe
Ruthe Farmer is a national advocate for gender equity and diversity in technology, and has focused her efforts on diversity in technology and engineering since 2001. At CSforALL, she serves as Chief Evangelist, working to invite new stakeholders to the CSforALL table - and make the table bigger. Prior to joining CSforALL, Ruthe served as Senior Policy Advisor for Tech Inclusion (https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/author/ruthe-farmer) at the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy focusing on President Obama’s call to action for Computer Science for All, led strategy and K-12 programs at the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) (http://www.ncwit.org/), and implemented national tech and engineering programs at Girl Scouts of the USA. She has launched multiple national inclusion programs including Aspirations in Computing (http://www.aspirations.org/), TECHNOLOchicas (http://www.technolochicas.org/), the AspireIT (http://www.ncwit.org/aspireIT) outreach program, Lego Robotics for Girl Scouts, Intel Design & Discovery and more. She served as 2012 Chair of CSEDWeek (http://www.csedweek.org/), was named a White House Champion of Change for Technology Inclusion (https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2013/08/12/building-true-pipeline-young-women-tech-scale-and-urgency) in 2013, received the Anita Borg Institute Award for Social Impact (https://anitaborg.org/profiles/abie-award-winners/ruthe-farmer/) in 2014, and the UK Alumni Award for Social Impact (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGeZUoVy6pY) in 2015. Ruthe holds a BA from Lewis & Clark College and an MBA in Social Entrepreneurship from the University of Oxford.