Van Wickle Ventures gives student entrepreneurs an investor’s perspective on startups

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — By the time Rhaime Kim was a junior at Brown, she had already interned at four startups, developed a financial technology venture of her own, and participated in B-Lab — an accelerator program based at the Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship.

But the computer science concentrator felt there was something missing from her entrepreneurial training.

“With these experiences, I was able to see what entrepreneurship looked like from the point of view of the startup,” said Kim, now a senior. “What I didn’t know was what it’s like on the side of the investor.”…Read More

Two Brown researchers earn top White House award for early-career scientists

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Two Brown University faculty members have been named recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering, the nation’s highest award for scientists and engineers in the early stages of their research careers.

Sohini Ramachandran
Sohini Ramachandran

Sohini Ramachandran, an associate professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Anita Shukla, an assistant professor in the School of Engineering, were among those chosen by the White House to receive the PECASE award, which goes to individuals “who show exceptional promise for leadership in science and technology.”

U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced this year’s winners on Tuesday, July 2.

$3 billion BrownTogether campaign eclipses $2 billion milestone

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Just outside Brown’s Granoff Center for the Creative Arts, construction crews are hard at work clearing a site for a cutting-edge Performing Arts Center, where students and faculty will soon push the boundaries of innovation in arts scholarship and performance. Steps away on Angell Street, researchers at the Carney Institute for Brain Science are working toward cures for the world’s most persistent and devastating neurological disorders.

Elsewhere on campus, 31 faculty members in recently endowed professorships are advancing research to find solutions to urgent global challenges. New admissions and financial aid initiatives are attracting talented, high-achieving students from an expanding range of socioeconomic backgrounds. And once on campus, students are thriving thanks to new support for academic programs, campus facilities, wellness initiatives, athletics and more…Read More

Summit explores ways to best meet mental health needs of Rhode Island college students

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Speaking at a Jan. 8 summit on postsecondary mental health convened by Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, Brown University President Christina Paxson said that first-rate mental health support for undergraduates is crucial not just because it aids them during college, but because it positions them for successful lives and careers as well.

“The thing that is most highly correlated with good health — mental and physical — throughout life is having a college degree,” Paxson said. “And so getting students out of high school, into college and through college — this is something that’s going to pay off in tremendous ways throughout their lives.”

Paxson joined Rhode Island College President Frank Sánchez and Roger Williams University Interim President Andrew Workman for a panel discussion that explored best practices in successfully meeting the mental health needs of today’s college students…Click to Read More