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Video Friday: Robotic Third Hand Helps You With Elevators, Handshakes
IEEE Spectrum recapped President Leshin’s interview with a high school student as part of a series by MassRobotics “How to Be a Robotocist.” (scroll down to Robotics Debate subhead, 3:59 mark).
CRASH COURSE: Terms Like 'De-densification' are Becoming De Rigueur in Back-to-Campus Plans
President Leshin was interviewed for the Boston Business Journal. she describes the impact on college and university presidents of having to make decisions on how to approach the Fall semester/term.
Interview with Laurie Leshin, President of WPI
President Leshin, President Laurie Leshin, who serves as the higher education representative on the advisory board Gov. Charlie Baker established to plan for the state's economic reopening, was interviewed on the podcast AICUM Insight (Association of Independent Colleges & Universities in Mass.). She spoke about, among other things, the difficult issues colleges and universities face during the pandemic. “I think our job in this moment is just to be as transparent as we can possibly be. If we’re going to have communities back together…it’s our job to continue to work to stop the spread of this virus,” she said.
WPI's President on How Reopening Higher Ed May Look
New England Cable News featured an interview with President Leshin. ”I think every campus across the commonwealth is making plans that will allow them to reopen and also plans in case they cannot,” she said.
Worcester Colleges Call for Systematic Changes in Wake of George Floyd Killing
The Worcester Business Journal included President Leshin’s thoughts in this article, (scroll up to 3rd article from bottom). “The protests of the past few days, ignited by the killing of George Floyd, but truly fueled by the continued targeting, demonization, and abuse of black people across our country, highlight legitimate anger, which I share,” Leshin wrote. “The uprising we’re now seeing points to the significant work we still have to do as a society to confront and eliminate racism. I stand with those who are outraged at the senseless loss of black lives.”
WPI President Talks About Space Launch
“It’s a thrilling and exciting day, and I wish them Godspeed,” President Leshin told NBC Boston over the weekend as SpaceX launched astronauts into orbit. Leshin used to work at NASA where, 10 years ago, she was involved in overseeing the commercial program which gave the very first funding to SpaceX to create the rocket.
The Steps Needed to Safely Reopen Colleges and Universities
President Leshin had an Op-ed published in The Boston Globe.
Proposed Plan for Reopening College Campuses
President Laurie Leshin discusses a proposed framework for a safe reopening of colleges and universities in Massachusetts.
The Power 50, Class of 2020
President Leshin and Michelle Jones-Johnson, vice president for talent and inclusion and chief diversity officer, were among the Worcester Business Journal’s honorees in its compilation of The Power 50 for 2020. The annual Power 50 issue “gives us an opportunity to really examine who wields influence in the Central Massachusetts economy, understand who is making power moves and their reasoning for doing so,” the article stated.
WPI President Featured in Virtual Robotics Seminar
President Leshin’s involvement in a virtual seminar on robotics was featured in The Telegram & Gazette’s College Town section (scroll down to third item). The four-part “Robot Stories” series was broadcast by the Innovation Institute at the Mass. Technology Collaborative and MassRobotics.
Local College Graduations Celebrated Virtually
Spectrum News 1 Worcester aired a segment about President Laurie Leshin’s video to the Class of 2020. The University released the video on Saturday which would have been the Undergraduate Commencement day.
Inventing a University 'From Scratch': College Leaders Talk Covid-19
President Leshin was noted in The Boston Business Journal article, "Inventing a University 'from Scratch': College Leaders Talk COVID-19", a virtual panel hosted by the Mass. High Technology Council. “We can move quickly and innovatively in higher ed — more than anyone thought,” Leshin said. “This moment has shown we can pivot quickly and that’s exciting,” she told the group.
Charlie Baker Forms Board to Plan Reopening as he Extends Closures, Stay-at-Home Advisory to May 18
WPI President Laurie Leshin is noted in a story in Boston.com as being named a member of the Reopening Advisory Board, which is charged with informing Massachusetts Gov. Charles Baker’s administration “on strategies for a phased reopening of the economy” amid the coronavirus pandemic.
A Small Step for Space Force Is Not a Giant Leap for Uniform Design
The New York Times sought President Leshin’s insight for this article. (scroll down to 12th graph). “The fact is, the vast majority of the women and men serving in the Space Force will be doing their important work right here on Earth, just like other members of the military,” Leshin said. “The same is true for people at NASA.”
WPI Shows Off New PracticePoint Labs-a Place Where Ideas can be Tested
The Telegram & Gazette in this article, highlighted the university’s ribbon-cutting at PracticePoint, its membership-based development and testing facility. PracticePoint labs is a collaborative health care technology facility that university, state and business leaders hope will deliver breakthroughs in medical devices.
WPI Marks Opening of New $17M PracticePoint Facility
The Worcester Business Journal highlighted WPI’s PracticePoint ribbon-cutting event in its article, "WPI Marks Opening of New $17M PracticePoint Facility." PracticePoint is the university’s membership-based development and testing facility. The goal of this alliance space is to advance healthcare technologies and launch better medical cyber-physical systems, through collaboration across the spectrum of product development and implementation.
What I wish I knew then: 11 tips for success from powerful female executives
President Leshin contributed to this Boston Globe section. Her advice, “Don’t just find a mentor — build a mentorship network.”
WPI Symposium Challenges Robot Industry, Academics to Come Together
Robotics Business Review published an extensive story with photos of last week’s Robotics Engineering Research Symposium at WPI. The story includes comments from WPI President Laurie Leshin and WPI alumnus Mathew DeDonato ’09, who is now a manager in the vehicle hardware group at Toyota Research Institute. President Leshin called WPI’s robotics program “an incredible model for higher education.”
50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing
New England Cable News interviewed President Leshin about WPI alum Robert Goddard, known as the father of modern rocketry. “He was driven, he was a visionary, and he was not going to stop until he figured out how to get us beyond Earth,” Leshin told NECN, which aired a retrospective Saturday morning and evening, noting Goddard’s link to the university. The piece also included footage of the campus building where Goddard worked.
Worcester Celebrates Role in Space Exploration on 50th Anniversary of Moon Landing
NBC Boston 10 interviewed President Leshin as part of its look at alum Robert Goddard’s links to Worcester and the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. “When you’re visionary and when you really believe in an idea, you’ve got to keep working at it and see it through. I’m only sad that he didn’t live to see the Apollo astronauts walk on the moon,” Leshin told Boston 10 about Goddard, considered the father of modern rocketry.