Last week St. Pete Innovation District hosted its 6th State of Science and Innovation. This event highlights innovators who are doing creative, thought-provoking, and impactful work. This is always a favorite event of the year and once again the event didn't disappoint. Personally I love the event for two reasons. First, my inner nerd gets a chance to learn something new (someday this trove of knowledge will win me a trivia contest). Second, I get energized by the ingenuity of our community members. I am confident that if we held an entire day of presentations it would be full of fantastic stories. Imagine 6 hours x 6 mins presentations = 60 presentations!!!
I want to thank the speakers so much for contributions! Its nerve racking to be asked to summarize your entire world into 6 minutes and then to be told you won't have control of the slide clicker. They always rise to the occasion and do fabulous. Please check out these speakers - visit their spaces (if possible) - and support their work.
The 2024 Speakers were:
Some of these organizations (and many more) will be hosting exhibits at the Science Festival and MarineQuest on February 10th. I hope to see you there!
Alison Barlow
Executive Director
To read more about the 2024 State of Science visit St. Pete Catalyst and I Love the Burg.
Over the last few months I have used this space in the newsletter to create a picture of what it takes to foster innovation. November 2023 newsletter: Innovation is a team sport. It requires diverse perspectives and experiences to find a creative solutions. It requires courage to try things out and be willing to learn what won’t work as much as what will work. It requires tenacity to keep going and going and going.
Thank you to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital (JHACH) for sponsoring and hosting our inaugural Morning Sparks: Innovation X-change breakfast. The event was kicked off by Alicia Schulhof, President of JHACH, and followed by an overview of the topic - Artificial Intelligence - by Dr. John Licato of USF's Advanced Machine and Human Reasoning Lab.
Kudos to the Volunteers of America Florida, City of St. Petersburg, and Pinellas County for the recent opening of the new downtown apartments, located in the Innovation District called Innovare. Innovare’s 50 apartments provide stable homes for individuals and families who earn 60 percent or less of the Area’s Median Income (AMI), including many who are transitioning from homelessness.