Retreat

2008 West Coast Fellows Retreat

A group of 30 in-school Hertz Fellows gathered for the annual West Coast retreat this September 26-28 at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, CA, sharing their research, making new friends, and exploring Monterey Bay. Keynote speaker Mike Farmwald, Hertz Fellow 1981, gave a lively presentation on patents and intellectual property and their central importance to high tech business. Fellow talks covered a wide range of topics from novel solar cells to computer learning to hear t valve replacements. 

Date:
Sep 26, 2008 - Sep 28, 2008
Location:
Asilomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, CA

Hertz Foundation President John Holzrichter and Senior Interviewers Tom Weaver and Lowell Wood held an open discussion and feedback forum for Fellows on Saturday night. The Fellows made several suggestions to the Foundation, including increasing networking opportunities, making theses available online, and testing out an alumni Fellow mentoring program. 

Jessica Chuang Seeliger, Hertz Fellow 2006, and Kimberly Beatty, Hertz Fellow 2008, presented results of a survey of female Hertz alumni, which showed a strong interest in establishing mentoring programs and improving networking between alumni and in-school Fellows. A similar survey for all alumni Fellows is being planned. 

Thank you to Louis Lerman for his support of the Fellow's retreats and to current Fellow, Daniel Slichter, for organizing the event with his committee including John McKeen and David Henry.