This isn't your typical tech talk - it's an intimate, informal conversation where you'll hear directly from PhD founders about their journey from the lab bench to launching a venture-backed startup.

Two returning founders pull back the curtain on the full arc of building a deep tech company, from first investment to the decisions that defined what came next.

Don’t miss this chance to connect, ask questions, and explore founder pathways to success.

Grab a bite, join the discussion, meet people working on exciting projects, and leave with new insights. Open to the Harvard community.

Speakers and company profiles:

Shannon Nangle, PhD

Shannon Nangle completed her PhD in structural biology at the University of Washington and her postdoc in synthetic biology at Harvard. She was co-founder and CEO of Circe, an industrial biotech company building resource-efficient biomanufacturing systems for use on Earth and in space. During her tenure, she raised $16M in venture and non-dilutive capital, built a team of 20, constructed an advanced biomanufacturing pilot facility, and served as PI on multiple DARPA and ARPA-E contracts. She is an alumna of the Activate Fellowship, an MIT Technology Review Innovator Under 35, and has published over 30 works spanning structural biology, synthetic biology, and biotechnologies for space.

Michael Bell, PhD

Michael Bell is the founder of Engineering Pixels and a returning speaker to the Harvard community. Michael Bell previously co-founded Fleet Robotics out of the Harvard Microrobotics lab in 2022. Michael received his PhD in the Harvard Microrobotics Lab for an underwater sea-star robot that adhered and navigated on ferrous surfaces. Michael previously led Project CETI as the Program Manager, developing whale tracking tags and automated drone tagging and recovery methods to translate sperm whale communication in the Caribbean. Michael has successfully spun out two companies from Harvard labs, Voxel8, and Electroninks. Voxel8 focused on 3D printed electronics, received Harvard accelerator funding, was a finalist in MassChallenge, raised more than $30M, and was acquired. Electroninks raised $700k on Kickstarter from more than 12,000 backers, and has millions in revenue today. Michael holds 6+ patents from industry and academia. 

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