2025 SmithGroup Lecture

The 2025 SmithGroup Lecture featured Calvin Mackie, founder of STEM NOLA. He gave a talk titled, "Hope in the 21st Century."

Abstract:

In the 21st century, America faces the critical challenge of cultivating a technical workforce to compete and thrive in a global economy where science, technology, engineering and mathematics are the driving forces of innovation. To succeed, we must inspire and empower an entire generation to become STEM literate and pursue STEM careers.

This requires engaging citizens in both traditional and non-traditional ways — during school hours and beyond — ensuring that lifelong learning becomes a foundational part of our education system.

The rapid evolution of a knowledge-based economy, coupled with demographic shifts, demands that we equip individuals of all ages with the skills necessary to succeed in a STEM-driven world.

Communities and educational institutions must collaborate to bridge the gap between technical knowledge and real-world application, bringing innovation to underserved and low-resourced areas. We must ensure that the human and technical capital present on university campuses is harnessed and directed back into communities that need it most.

Founded by Dr. Calvin Mackie in 2014, STEM NOLA is at the forefront of transforming STEM education. Through innovative, community-based programming, STEM NOLA directly addresses historical barriers to STEM access and engages thousands of youth and organizations globally. This session will explore STEM NOLA’s strategies for captivating the hearts and minds of youth, fostering excitement for STEM and creating pathways to success for all.

Watch the lectures

Previous SmithGroup Lectures

• Safiya Noble (April 2022)
  MacArthur Foundation Fellow, professor of gender studies and African American studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, and co-founder and co-director of the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry.
• Jaclyn Jensen (April 2021)
  Driehaus College of Business at DePaul University
• Albert-László Barabási (April 2019)
  Center of Complex Networks Research, Northeastern University; Division of Network Medicine, Harvard University; and the Department of Network and Data Sciences at Central European University.
• Sandra Tsing Loh (April 2018)
  Host of the syndicated daily radio science minute and NPR podcast “The Loh Down on Science” and adjunct associate professor in drama and science communication at University of California, Irvine.
• L. Mahadevan (April 2017)
  England de Valpine Professor of Applied Mathematics, professor of organismic and evolutionary biology, professor of physics, Harvard University
• Michael Posner (April 2016 )
  Professor emeritus, Department of Psychology, University of Oregon
• Chad Mirkin (October 2014)
  George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry and Director, International Institute for Nanotechnology, Northwestern University
• Victor Regnier (April 2013)
  Professor of architecture and gerontology at the University of Southern California
• Jeff Hawkins (November 2010 )
  Founder, Numenta, Inc.
• Felice Frankel (September 2008 )
  Senior Research Fellows, Harvard
• Helen Neville (October 2007 )
  Psychology/Neuroscience, Oregon
• James Carey (April 2006)
  Entomology, University of California-Davis
• Douglas Noll (October 2003)
  Biomedical Engineering, Michigan
• Lawrence Rabiner (October 2001)
  Vice President AT&T Labs
• George Whitesides (March 1999)
  Chemistry, Harvard
• Norman Allinger (March 1995)
  Chemistry, Georgia
• Inaugural speaker: James Watson (October 1992)
  Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory