Theme: What Lies Ahead

How we perceive the past and the present affects our imagination and expectation of what lies ahead. Our beliefs and decisions shape the future. In this age, we are facing some of the greatest challenges in mankind’s history such as climate change, poverty, oppression, and disease. How would we think about our actions in retrospect? Which ideas have led to discovery? What is the spark that is igniting the possibilities for a good future? How can we create a ripple effect that will leave the world as a better place?

We aim to highlight individuals in the local community who have shared profound insight through their attitudes and approaches in the sciences, humanities, technologies, and arts. These individuals have made a long-lasting impact, one that enables us to feel the power of an idea worth spreading.

3401 Spruce Street
philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104
United States

Angela Sheik

A truly groundbreaking musical force of nature, Angela Sheik’s enigmatic style presents a dynamic challenge for anyone trying to capture or pin her down with simple phrases or traditional categorizations. On her new album Home Before Dark, the soulful music innovator opens up a world of sonic, rhythmic and compositional possibilities that have driven her success as a multi-faceted, trip-hop, and electronic-infused folk-pop indie artist.

Dan Huh

As a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute, Dan Huh worked with Donald Ingber to develop the first organs-on-chips using microengineering technologies for cell biology. These microchips served as models of human organs. Dan Huh is now a professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania. Dan Huh has authored over 30 papers in Science, Nature, Nature Materials, PNAS, and other major research journals. He has won several honors and awards including the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, which grants innovators $1.5 million during the next five years to work on groundbreaking technologies.

Danielle Bassett

As the youngest recipient of the 2014 MacArthur Award Genius Grant and an Assistant Professor of Innovation in the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Bioengineering, Danielle Bassett derives mathematical models from aesthetic representations of brain networks. She aims to diagram the organizational principles in the human brain and understand how brain networks can be reconfigured to quickly incorporate new information and enhance learning, tackling seemingly unsolvable problems with grace and confidence.

Eric Corey Freed

Eric Corey Freed believes that today’s "harsh, style-driven fashions” in architecture can be improve through building responsibly, reducing waste, and preserving the environment. The author of "Green Building & Remodeling for Dummies", Freed has sold over 200,000 copies and has helped thousands more around the country monetize sustainability. Today, Freed continues the tradition of “Organic Architecture”, and works to bridge the gap between human habitation and the natural world. A renowned leader in the sustainable architecture field, Freed was named by San Francisco Magazine as ""Best Green Architect"" in 2005 and ""Best Visionary"" in 2007. He was also named one of the ""Top 10 Most Influential Green Architects."""

Francis Menotti

A full time professional magician since 2000, Francis Menotti has over 30 years experience practicing sleight of hand. Whether entertaining on six-star cruise lines, U.S. Presidential Inaugural Balls or intimate private events, Francis consistently impresses. He has also earned respect as an international industry leader, inventing, writing and lecturing on new magic for fellow magicians. He artfully draws upon his education in psychology, advertising, and theatre to captivate and charm audiences across five continents. He is constantly adapting to different languages and bridging cultural barriers with a universal language of wonder.

Jack Park

From Seoul, South Korea, Jack Park recently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. In his freshman year, Park's biopsychosocial vulnerability developed into a full mental disease, which paralyzed and nearly ended his life. He recovered eventually—after receiving unending parental love, spiritual beliefs, and psychiatric treatment. Thereafter, Park wrote a blog post that went viral about his diagnosis and the need to prioritize and provide support for mental health on college campuses. His effort was featured on over 19 publications including USA Today and Huffington Post Live. Jack Park has also spoken at dozens of campus events seeking to highlight mental wellness.

Jen Groover

After launching her multi-million dollar brand for the first compartmentalized handbag, the Butler Bag, Jen Groover aims to pursue innovation in every industry from fitness to fashion to technology. She specializes in inspiring people to fulfill their potential through their emotional intelligence. Jen Groover was named a UN delegate for the first ever Global Entrepreneurs Council’s Global Accelerator. Entrepreneur Magazine dubbed her “Serial Entrepreneur,” and SUCCESS Magazine called her a “Creativity and Innovation Guru.” Her products and brand have been featured in hundreds of media outlets including the O! Oprah Magazine, People, US Weekly, Entrepreneur and more.

Jill Wruble

Wruble is a radiologist at the West Haven Connecticut Veterans Administration Medical Center. She teaches residents at Yale School of Medicine and University of Connecticut Medical Center. With her expertise in incidentalomas, she chaired a blue-ribbon panel discussion on this issue at the 2014 National Association of Veterans Affairs Physicians and Dentists Summit. She has also previously served in private radiology practices and as a physician in the United States Army.

Jon Iwry

Jon Iwry is recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he double-majored in Philosophy and Intellectual History. He is a four-time winner of Penn’s Got Talent and was invited to join the music department’s panel discussion for Penn’s Year of Sound in 2015, where he performed for it's incoming freshman class. In addition, Iwry founded the Penn Hip-Hop Initiative and was a weekly opinion columnist for The Daily Pennsylvanian. Twelve years ago, Jonathan Iwry set out to uncover the art of freestyle rapping. He discovered that improvisation is less a talent than a skill, and even a philosophy.

Jonathan Dessi Olive

Jonathan Dessi-Olive used catenary building methods to construct a hybrid wind and solar-powered radio studio on the remote Mfangano Island in Kenya. He aims to empower developing communities and build sustainable economies by adapting local construction techniques in his architectural projects. As the inaugural winner of the Robert A.M. Stern Traveling Fellowship, he was recognized as one of the top emerging architects who seek to perpetuate tradition through invention. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Minnesota and Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. Currently, he is a designer at Peterssen Keller Architecture in Minneapolis.

Jonathan Iwry

Jon Iwry is recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he double-majored in Philosophy and Intellectual History. He is a four-time winner of Penn’s Got Talent and was invited to join he music department’s panel discussion for Penn’s Year of Sound, where he performed for it's incoming freshman class. In addition, Iwry founded the Penn Hip-Hop Initiative and was a weekly opinion columnist for The Daily Pennsylvanian. Twelve years ago, Jonathan Iwry set out to uncover the art of freestyle rapping. He discovered that improvisation is less a talent than a skill, and even a philosophy.

Judy Gelles

Judy Gelles graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with an MFA in Photography and her photography provides social commentary on who we are and how we think. Three years ago, she volunteered at an inner-city school near her home in Philadelphia. After months of listening to the stories of the children she worked with, she realized that what the students were telling her was important for others to hear too. Her work can be seen in the Pentimenti Gallery in Philadelphia, Stephen Cohen Gallery in Los Angeles, and Etherton Gallery in Tucson.

Lyle Ungar

Lyle Ungar is a professor of Computer and Information Science and Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and has analyzed 148 million tweets from more than 1,300 counties that represent 88 percent of the U.S. population. His published research has been focused around the area of text mining. He has published over 200 articles and holds eleven patents. His current research deals with statistical natural language processing, spectral methods, and the use of social media to understand the psychology of individuals and communities.

Nic Hansen

Peter Struck

Peter Struck is Associate Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. His research engages with the history of the construction of meaning, in divination and in ancient notions of the organism. In 2004, he won Penn's Lindback Award, the university's highest award for teaching. Currently, he is writing about the applications of Greek and Roman divination in "Divine Signs and Human Nature: A Cognitive History of Divination in Antiquity".

Sheldon Himelfarb

Himelfarb is the CEO and President of the PeaceTech Lab at the United States Institute of Peace and has led efforts in peacebuilding, foreign policy, and conflict management. Prior to this, he served as a foreign policy adviser to a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In an effort to develop people-to-people diplomacy, Himelfarb has worked to bring security and stability to communities around the world from Iraq to Bosnia to Afghanistan. He is an award-winning filmmaker, former commentator for NPR, and author of numerous articles on politics, popular culture and media.

Spencer Penn

Spencer Penn is the co-founder of the social venture, Sweet Bites, created to fight cavities in developing countries. His initiative was selected as a global finalist for the prestigious Hult Prize and its co-founders were invited to speak at the the annual Clinton Global Initiative conference in New York. In 2014, Spencer Penn graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and is currently a Robotics Engineering Masters student at the university.

Tessa Seymour

Tessa Seymour was born in Berkeley, California and began learning to play the cello at the age of six. At age 16, she moved to Philadelphia to study at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music, where she is studied under Carter Brey and Peter Wiley. Today, she plays on a 1720 Carlo Giuseppe Testore cello she refers to as the "Camilla." Tessa has performed at Carnegie Hall, Davies Symphony Hall, and the Kennedy Center and frequently appears on NPR's radio show From the Top with Christopher O'Riley.

Victoria Ford

Victoria Ford, hailing from Greenville, S.C., is a 2015 graduate from the University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in English. She is an active member of "The Excelano Project", Penn's first and only spoken word group. Victoria Ford has said that “Excelano gives students the permission to cry about something they didn’t think they could cry about, or laugh at something that they can relate to.” Through spoken word, she has been able to turn her thoughts and words into an art form.

Vijay Kumar

Vijay Kumar’s creative, algorithmic, and experimental work has transformed robotics. At the University of Pennsylvania’s General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Lab, he creates the next generation of robotic wonders. His flying robots can juggle, fly through hula-hoops, and most importantly… work together. Passionate about sharing his knowledge with the world's innovators, he has authored more than 400 publications. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of both the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the IEEE Computer Society. Most recently, Vijay Kumar was named the Dean of The School of Engineering and Applied Science and is participating in large-scale National Science Foundation projects on cyber-physical systems with medical applications.