Nan-Wei Gong, founder of Figur8 Inc., and Anirudh Sharma, co-founder of Graviky Labs, will discuss entrepreneurship on the cutting edge of innovation.
Entrepreneurs and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab graduates Nan-Wei Gong and Anirudh Sharma will deliver the 2022 C. Ashton Newhall Endowed Lecture on Nov. 15 at 4:30 p.m. in the Ernest A. Koury Sr. Business Center’s LaRose Digital Theatre.
During the presentation, “Entrepreneurship on the Cutting Edge of Innovation,” Gong will share her work with tracking body movement using AI data sensors and Sharma will discuss his work transforming pollutants into ink and plastics.
Gong is the CEO of Figur8 Inc., the industry leader in transforming musculoskeletal care with objective data and AI-driven biomarkers. Her work has been recognized by major news outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Bloomberg and INC.
Previously, Gong was a member of the award-winning founding team of 3dim Tech, a gestural control for mobile devices that was acquired in 2014, and founder and managing partner of Circular2, an engineering consulting firm specializing in rapidly transforming ideas into production-ready products. Her clients included MIT and Harvard, as well as Fortune 50 companies such as Google and Samsung.
Gong received a doctorate from the MIT Media Lab in 2013. As an innovator driven by rigorous scientific and engineering training, she has published more than 30 peer-reviewed papers and filed and granted over 10 U.S. patents to date.
Sharma is a designer, inventor and engineer, who launched and led 0→1 commercial and non-profit ventures based off his research that impacts human wellness and environment.
As co-founder of Graviky Labs, he is working to sequester carbon emissions from air-pollution by recycling it into other materials such as ink. Graviky’s AIR-INK has sparked a global art movement with artists and print industry around the world using it to create beautiful narratives of protest and carbon dependence to spread awareness about the environment.
An interdisciplinary researcher, Sharma is interested in utilizing sensors (electronic and imaging), bio-feedback and AI to weave I/O intelligence into everyday objects that promote better physiology, mind-body-world interaction. His work has been recognized by TED, MIT TR35, Forbes 30 Under 30, and TIME’s ‘Best Invention of the Year’ in 2020. He is a graduate from the Fluid Interfaces Group at MIT Media Lab.
The C. Ashton Newhall Endowed Lecture Series, named for Elon University trustee C. Ashton Newhall ’98 and hosted by the Doherty Center for Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, brings successful entrepreneurs to campus to share their knowledge and experience managing the risks and rewards of entrepreneurial endeavors.