Past Conferences
2022: Innovating a Sustainable Future for All
Hosted virtually over two days, the 2022 INTERSECT@CMU Conference focused on sustainability, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the actions we must take to ensure that the next generation will live on a more sustainable planet.
During the conference, speakers and panelists discussed urgent issues facing our planet as they relate to cities and infrastructure; peaceful, just and inclusive societies; climate action; and resilient and inclusive economies.
Check out the keynote addresses below, or browse all recordings from the conference.
Keynote Address with David Turk
Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy
Keynote Address with Keith Block (HNZ84, DC84)
Former Co-CEO, Salesforce
Keynote Address with Zia Khan
Senior Vice President for Innovation, Rockefeller Foundation
2020: COVID-19, Learning Into Action
Hosted virtually as a series of sessions over multiple weeks, the 2020 INTERSECT@CMU Conference considered the pandemic’s long-term global effects on four foundational elements of society: health, sustainability, education and the economy. This year, CMU also launched STUDENTSECT@CMU, a series of student-led programming developed to support the cross-campus, interdisciplinary nature of INTERSECT@CMU by incorporating the student perspective into the conference agenda.
Video: Marcia McNutt, President of the National Academy of Sciences and one of the 2020 keynote speakers, discusses how integrating sustainability into our society could affect our resistance to future pandemics and environmental risks.
2019: Health Care Innovation
This one-day conference, hosted on September 13, 2019, opened with keynote speaker Steve Downs, chief technology and strategy officer for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation discussing the possibilities of emerging technologies in reengineering a culture of health. The conference also included panel discussions on AI and health care, the intersection of science and the arts in the future of the health industry, and issues around costs, pricing and policy design of wellness.
Video: 2019 Keynote Speaker Steve Downs, Chief Technology and Strategy Officer for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation delivers a keynote address titled "Building Health into Society's OS."
2018: Future of Business, Tech and Society
Part of the two-day event celebrating the opening of the Tepper Quad, the inaugural INTERSECT@CMU Conference was held on September 14, 2018. Focusing on the intersections between business and technology in society today, the event included a keynote address by vice president of AI at Facebook, Inc., Jerome Pesenti, followed by panel discussions on Smart Homes, Smart Cars and Smart Cities, AI and Society, and Blockchain's radical potential to decentralize trust.
Video: 2018 Keynote Speaker Jerome Pesenti, VP of AI at Facebook, delivers a keynote address titled "AI Today and Tomorrow."