Women in Robotics: Dr. Pooja Viswanathan, Co-founder and CEO, Braze Mobility
Details
Get Your Bot On! (https://twitter.com/getyourboton), its partners IEEE Toronto Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EBMS) (http://toronto.ieee.ca/engineering-in-medicine-and-biology/), Society of Women Engineers Toronto and IEEE Women in Engineering (http://toronto.ieee.ca/women-in-engineering-wie/) are pleased to bring you the 'Women in Robotics Speaker Series'. This series celebrates the work of women in the field of robotics and provides a forum for them to share their work and career with the community. We invite all community members to come and learn, participate in the discussion, and celebrate the contribution of women to this field.
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Dr. Pooja Viswanathan is the Co-founder and CEO of Braze Mobility Inc. Dr. Viswanathan has a PhD in Robotics and Assistive Technology, is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto and the AGE-WELL Network of Centres of Excellence, and is an Ontario Brain Institute Entrepreneur. Dr. Viswanathan is a passionate and accomplished innovator and still makes time for mentorship and education of the next generation of young innovators.
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Dr. Viswanathan will share her experiences as an entrepreneur launching new products in the assistive technology space. She has assembled and leads an expert team in the design and development of assistive technologies. Braze Mobility helps to increase safe and independent mobility of wheelchair users. Their products alert the user to obstacles in the environment, providing different modes of feedback and helping prevent collisions.
Come and hear about Dr. Viswanathan’s journey as a researcher, innovator and entrepreneur. She will share her experiences founding Braze Mobility and the path that brought her there.
See you April 10!
Shout us out at the Twitter handles below or use the tag #WinRSeries and check out past events on Twitter at #WinRSeries (https://twitter.com/hashtag/winrseries?f=tweets&vertical=default&src=hash).
This event is co-hosted with the IEEE Toronto Section, Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) (http://toronto.ieee.ca/engineering-in-medicine-and-biology/), Society of Women Engineers Toronto (https://www.meetup.com/Society-of-Women-Engineers-Toronto/?from=ref) and IEEE Women in Engineering (http://toronto.ieee.ca/women-in-engineering-wie/).
The Health Innovation Hub is at 263 McCaul Street, Room 120. Doors lock at 6pm but someone will be nearby to open the door for you.
Light Refreshments will be served (sponsored by IEEE EBMS)
Agenda
6:00 pm - Networking
6:30 pm - Welcome
6:40 pm - Dr. Pooja Viswanathan - talk and Q&A
8:00 pm - Pitch Sessions and Networking
9:00 pm - Close
Our Speaker for the Evening:
Dr. Pooja Viswanathan, Co-founder and CEO of Braze Mobility Inc.
@BrazeMobility (https://twitter.com/BrazeMobility)
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Pooja's passion to create assistive technologies began when she first visited a long-term care facility. She noticed that several residents had limited mobility due to physical impairments and were being denied powered mobility devices due to safety concerns. In order to solve this problem, Pooja went on to complete doctoral and post-doctoral research in robotics and assistive technologies at UBC, Toronto Rehab Institute, and University of Toronto, gaining almost a decade of experience in developing and testing "smart" wheelchairs that could help prevent collisions and provide navigation assistance. In 2015, Pooja completed the elite Techno entrepreneurship training program offered by the Impact Centre (a campus-linked accelerator with a focus on researchers and companies in the natural sciences and engineering), and founded Braze Mobility Inc. She is a recipient of Ontario Brain Institute's Entrepreneur Fellowship, and awards from AGE-WELL NCE.
About Get Your Bot On!
Get Your Bot On! is a community of roboticists, engineers, designers and hobbyists in the Toronto area. GYBO! hosts meetups, workshops and hackathons for knowledge sharing and collaboration among its members. In September 2015 GYBO! hosted "Healthy: People and Environments", a 3-day hackathon for the design and prototyping of robots. Find out more at our website (https://getyourboton.com/) or follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/getyourboton).
About IEEE Toronto
IEEE Toronto is a community for electrical and computer engineers and related professions. We hold professional/technical meetings, tutorials, conferences, etc. for our members and guests, and recognize excellence through our awards program. With approximately 4000 members in the local area, and more than 50 yearly events, we are very active in serving the electrical engineering professionals at all levels. Find out more about the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (http://toronto.ieee.ca/engineering-in-medicine-and-biology/) chapter and the IEEE Women in Engineering (http://toronto.ieee.ca/women-in-engineering-wie/) group.
About Society of Women Engineers Toronto
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Society of Women Engineers Toronto (SWE Toronto) connects and supports women engineers and engineering professionals in Toronto, enabling them to rise together as a community. Going beyond your average networking event, SWE Toronto encourages meaningful and engaging conversations through a series of meetups, speaker series and workshops. Join the Society of Women Engineers Toronto Meetup Group (http://meetu.ps/c/35k2y/mYNR6/f) or connect with them on their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/swetoronto/) and follow them on Twitter (https://twitter.com/SWE_Toronto).
Community Sponsor
Special thanks to the Health Innovation Hub (http://h2i.utoronto.ca/), Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, for providing us the space for this meetup.
Events will begin at 6 pm with networking. Presentations will start at 6:30 and go to approximately 8:00. There will be time for Q&A and knowledge sharing. Participants are welcome to bring their own projects for our pitch session at the end of the meetup. Come and ask the community to help you when you are stumped!
Women in Robotics: Dr. Pooja Viswanathan, Co-founder and CEO, Braze Mobility