October Innovation and IP Virtual Event

IPO Education Foundation is pleased to host a three-part virtual, interactive event October 12, 12-2pm ET to introduce graduate students and postdoctoral scholars from underrepresented communities to careers in STEM and innovation featuring speakers from Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, IBM, InterDigital, Medtronic, Micron, and University of Pennsylvania. Students will also have the opportunity to learn about intellectual property, how it relates to the work that they do, as well as how to stand out to a corporate hiring manager. Please register with the link below – attendance is limited. For questions, contact Foundation@ipo.org.

Kyle Aure, IBM Corp

Doug Castor, InterDigital 

Douglas Castor is Senior Director of Future Wireless Research and Innovation at InterDigital’s Philadelphia area office, where he leads the incubation and development of emerging technologies for wireless systems. Since joining InterDigital in 2000, he has led teams in both product development and research innovations for 3G through 6G cellular and other wireless technologies. Prior to joining InterDigital, Doug held Communication Engineer positions at General Electric, Lockheed Martin, and General Atronics. He holds numerous issued patents and patent applications. In 2006, he was awarded the Delaware Valley Young Engineer of the Year award from the IEEE Philadelphia Section. Doug earned a BSEE from the Pennsylvania State University (1992) and MSEE degree from the University of Pennsylvania (1995).

Doug is an initiator and leader for the annual 6G Symposium which resulted in over 1000 online active participants in its debut in 2020. Doug currently holds board positions at MulteFire, NYU Wireless (Industry Board), and Northeastern University’s Wireless Internet of Things (Industry Board). Doug is also an active Vice Chair of ATIS’s Next G Alliance 6G National Roadmap Working Group.

Mercedes Meyer, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Mercedes K. Meyer, Ph.D., is a partner in the Intellectual Property Group of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP’s Washington, DC office. She earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Bryn Mawr College, her Ph.D. in virology from the University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston and The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and her J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center. Mercedes is co-author with Professor David Hricik of Patent Ethics: Prosecution (4th ed., 2016-2017).  She has lectured in the past on bioethics, ethics, and patents especially in the areas of biotechnology, due diligence, prosecution, and inter partes matters. Mercedes is an active member of the Intellectual Property Owner’s Organization (IPO), a current vice chair of the Women in IP Committee of IPO and a current Board member of the IPO Education Foundation (IPOEF).  

Anda Mocuta, Micron Technology, Inc.  

Anda Mocuta received a M.S. degree in Physics from University of Bucharest and a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. She started her career at IBM’s Semiconductor Research and Development Center in 1999. At IBM she worked on CMOS semiconductor technology development, starting with the 180nm planar node and into the 14nm FinFET. While at IBM she has held multiple roles, technical and managerial, mostly working at the intersection of several domains in CMOS development.  Between 2014-2019 she was a director of the Technology Solutions department at imec,  leading advanced CMOS Design-Technology-co-Optimization (DTCO) research. At imec she led active interactions on future technology with all the major players in the semiconductor industry. She has 22 patents, over 100 peer reviewed publications and has served on conference committees and as an invited speaker at conferences and private technical events at various companies. Since 2019 Anda has joined Micron as a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff, working on CMOS DTCO for memory products.

Dr. James E. Tarver, University of Pennsylvania 

Dr. James E. Tarver has served as Chief Research Administrator for the Department of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania since 2016.  James oversees research operations, grant and contract administration, and overall financial oversight of university operations for Medicine. He also currently does scientific, business and STEM education consulting work and serves as Co-Director of Chemistry for the Mathematical Sciences Institute (MSI), a STEM education organization that seeks enhanced outcomes for the pipeline of students of color in STEM from elementary to beyond graduate school. Throughout his career, Dr. Tarver has played the roles of scientist, problem solver and a translator as both business leader and consultant. James has been responsible for jump-starting innovative small businesses and business units as well as optimizing organizations through design and implementation of people-focused, operational and financial business models.  His passion is tackling complex challenges particularly at interface of science and business, developing solutions and sharing learned experiences with colleagues toward a better tomorrow.

James earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania and B.S. in chemistry and mathematics from Morehouse College.  He also holds a M.B.A from Fox Business School, Temple University.

Richard Watkins, Medtronic Inc. 

Richard is a Sr. Principal Legal Counsel at Medtronic and has practiced IP Law for 20 years. He holds a BS in Chemistry from Morehouse College and a law degree from Georgetown University. Prior to Medtronic, Richard spent time in private practice and corporate in house positions in Philadelphia, Chicago, and Memphis. He has been active in the IPO Diversity and Inclusion committee, is currently serving as the Co-Chair of the Black IP Professionals in IPO, and is a  member of the Board of Directors of IPO Education Foundation. Outside of the law, Richard serves as a board member on the Lynching Sites Project of Memphis to further the goal of changing the narrative on racially motivated killings in the area. Richard is married to Rev. Ayanna Watkins, Executive Director of Memphis Interfaith Coalition For Action and Hope and they are the proud parents of two daughters, with the youngest born in the summer of 2020. Richard enjoys spending time with his family, cooking, being active outdoors, and listening to live music.