Amplified: Race and Reality in STEM
Thursday, August 27, 2020

Manu Platt, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University

Moderated by Todd McDevitt, PhD

Senior Investigator, Gladstone Institutes
Headshot of Manu Platt

As visibility of the killing of unarmed black men by police has increased, a movement to address racial inequities in the United States has gained steam, and neither academia nor STEM researchers are immune. In addition, the disproportionate effect of COVID-19 on black and brown people has led to a tipping point driving activism nationwide. However, the risk remains that the moment will pass and that structures supporting systemic racism will remain, once again, gaslighting academics and students of color into thinking that change is coming.

After the overwhelming positive reception to Manu Platt’s first presentation at Gladstone, we’re bringing him back to deliver his message to a national audience.

During this discussion, you’ll learn how to:

  • Uncover micro-to-mega activities that occur on a daily basis that sustain racial inequities
  • Understand the toll it takes on recipients
  • Learn about changes that you can make to promote anti-racist practices
  • Transform the academic culture

This presentation is open to the public.

Additional Resources to Prepare for This Event

This event is hosted in partnership with:

Manu Platt received his PhD from the Georgia Tech and Emory University joint program in biomedical engineering in 2006, where he returned as a faculty member in 2009 after completing his postdoctoral training at MIT in orthopedic tissue engineering and systems biology. Now a tenured professor, his research centers on proteolytic mechanisms of tissue remodeling during disease progression using both experimental and computational approaches. In addition, Platt is a champion for diversity in science and engineering. He is co-founder and director of Project ENGAGES, a program that provides African American high school students research opportunities at Georgia Tech.

Awards for Efforts in Diversity

  • Georgia Tech Diversity Champion Award
  • Biomedical Engineering Society Diversity Award
  • Emerging Scholar by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education Magazine
  • Atlanta 40 under 40 by the Atlanta Business Chronicle
  • Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
  • Root 100, List of the most influential African Americans, ages 25 to 45

Details

Dates
August 27, 2020
Time
10:00-11:30am PDT
Location
Online
Audience
Public
Hashtag
#AmplifiedSTEM

Amplified: Race and Reality in STEM aims to give a national platform to speakers to have candid conversations around race and diversity in the STEM fields. Launched in 2020 as part of Gladstone’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, this series is hosted in partnership with Georgia Tech, the Molecular Engineering & Sciences Institute at University of Washington, and The University of Texas at Austin. We hope these discussions spark change throughout the sciences. 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At Gladstone, we are committed to providing events and professional development activities that resonate with our community’s diverse members. Our goal is to develop creative programming that encompasses a wide variety of ideas and perspectives to inspire, educate, and engage with everyone within our walls.

We want to effect positive change through our events and activities by providing a platform for discussions on important topics related to increasing diversity and inclusiveness in the sciences.