The Lemelson Foundation welcomes three new advisory committee members

Portland, OR – The Lemelson Foundation, the world’s leading funder of invention in service of social and economic change, today announced it will add three new members to its Advisory Committee.

The new advisors are: Mir Imran, the founder of InCube Labs and a respected healthcare entrepreneur and inventor; Kara Miller, the host and executive editor of Public Radio International’s Innovation Hub; and Richard K. Miller, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and President of Olin College of Engineering.

The Lemelson Foundation’s Advisory Committee provides ongoing strategic advice on the development and implementation of its programs. The Advisory Committee possesses a diversity of expertise across geographical regions and public, private and non-profit sectors. The three new advisors will join seven other leaders from across the globe working in the fields of invention, entrepreneurship, and education.

“The Lemelson Foundation board and staff are delighted to welcome Mir Imran, Kara Miller and Richard Miller to our team,” said executive director Carol Dahl. “Their wealth of experience in fields critical to impact inventing, such as education, engineering, business, and communications is astounding and will provide invaluable perspective for the foundation’s work in the years ahead.”

About Mir Imran

Mir Imran is the founder of InCube Labs, focused on creating medical solutions that change the standard of care in critical healthcare markets. As a healthcare entrepreneur, he has founded more than 20 life-science companies. With expertise spanning clinical areas from interventional cardiology to chronic pain, obesity, and CNS disorders, Imran now holds more than 200 issued patents.

He is an active angel investor, a limited partner in numerous venture funds, and sits on the boards of many life sciences companies. In addition, Imran established the InCube Innovation Institute, a first-of-its-kind innovation program for grades 6-12 after recognizing a lack of invention and innovation education in schools. Imran was born and raised in India and earned an M.S. in bioengineering and a B.S. in electrical engineering at Rutgers. He also attended CMDNJ/Rutgers Medical School.

About Kara Miller 

Kara Miller is the host and executive editor of WGBH and Public Radio International’s Innovation Hub, which she launched in 2011. Public Radio International took the program national in May, 2014 and it now airs on more than 50 stations. Miller created the program guided by a genuine interest in how innovation affects our daily lives. During discussions with innovators in various fields, she asks the questions people want to know, and helps us see how people are thinking in new ways.

A former college professor, Miller also has a passion for education. Innovation Hub has repeatedly covered topics relating to STEM in US secondary and higher education, primarily the ways in which it is failing to prepare students for the changing work landscape, with an eye towards engaging kids in hands-on STEM and creativity. Miller has been a contributor to WGBH’s programming since 2008. Prior to that she was an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts for three years and an adjunct professor at Babson College for two years. Miller holds a Ph.D. from Tufts and a B.A. from Yale.

About Richard K. Miller 

Richard K. Miller is Professor of Mechanical Engineering and President of Olin College of Engineering. Olin was founded with the two-part goal of fueling technical innovation to solve pressing societal challenges, and cultivating the inventive spirit in all students that empowers them to apply their skills and knowledge to these challenges. Under Miller’s leadership, the college is attracting the country’s top faculty and students who are passionate about learning and making a difference in the world.

With a background in applied mechanics and interest in innovation in higher education, Miller is the author of more than 100 journal articles and other technical publications. Miller served as Chair of the Engineering Advisory Committee of the U.S. National Science Foundation and has served on advisory boards and committees for Harvard University, Stanford University, the NAE, and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He has served as a consultant to the World Bank in the establishment of new universities.  Miller earned his B.S. from the University of California at Davis, his M.S. from MIT, and Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology, where he received the 2014 Caltech Distinguished Alumni Award.

For more information about the new Lemelson Foundation advisory committee, please visit: http://www.lemelson.org/about-us/advisory-committee.