WYSS Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University

Dr. Mary Tolikas, Operations Director

Recorded on August 16, 2013, 12 – 1pm CDT

Hosted by the INCOSE Natural Systems Working Group

George Studor, Chair (george.studor@incose.org)

Curt McNamara, Co-chair (curt.mcnamara@incose.org)

Dr. Mary Tolikas the Operations Director of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University (http://wyss.harvard.edu/). Dr. Tolikas discussed the Wyss Institute, its scope and system for applying biological inspiration to engineering challenges, and highlight some examples of their work.

Mary Tolikas, Ph.D., M.B.A., is the Wyss Institute's Director of Operations, responsible for the implementation and management of the research and program development operations of the Institute. Mary brings experience in start-up operations, product development, strategic planning and business development in a number of technology markets and applications, including software, electromechanical devices, biological and electromagnetic modeling. As an engineer, she has designed and built products for a number of diverse customers, such as the U.S. Navy, Carrier Corp. and General Motors. She is the Co-Chair of the Women in Medicine Committee at Children’s Hospital Boston and a member of the Hospital’s Circle of Care. In addition she is a Fellow of the Emerging Leaders Program 2005 at the Center for Collaborative Leadership, University of Massachusetts. She is an avid runner and cyclist with yearly participation in the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Pan Mass Challenge fundraiser. Mary holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and an M.B.A. from the Sloan School of Management at MIT. She also holds a BEng from the University of Glasgow, Scotland.