Felix Lu

Going backwards, I spent the last decade understanding the industry-academic ecosystem for building partnerships at the University of Chicago and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Working with peers and peer professional groups helps deepen the insights into building effective networks and understanding the right timing. Prior to that, I was the co-founder of a high technology startup in North Carolina that was spun out of Duke University developing optical systems for a niche quantum computing application. My first job out of graduate school was at the Boeing Company out of Los Angeles, CA - working on technology qualification for satellite electronics. I learned about project management, personnel management, administration, federal contracts, public-private-partnerships, managing advisory boards, networking in a new environment, leveraging your network to build partnerships, and asking the right questions to achieve impact.

The most relevant educational impacts I had were from the University of Chicago's Executive program for emerging leaders - taught by world famous business school faculty, and an impactful communications workshop. Applying these lessons to senior graduate students to help them become better communicators was also an education as you master what you teach. Understanding frameworks and tools developed by others lets you appreciate the insights, common modes, and exceptions that are significant and why they are impactful. I saw this in my certificate for project management taken while I was at the Boeing Company, and also in my PhD work at UC San Diego in the area of electronic materials science.