This lecture series recognizes the entrepreneurial vision of A. Richard Newton, Dean of UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering from 2000 to 2007, by inviting distinguished innovators to share lessons from their own successes and failures. The course features a selection of highly accomplished industry speakers, including Cal alumni, who share their unique insights on industry developments, leadership, and innovation accumulated through experience in their careers. The lecture series serves as a discovery course for topics at the intersection of technology innovation and entrepreneurship and is a requirement for two of the tracks to complete the SCET Certificate in Entrepreneurship & Technology.
This class is a great introductory class for students interested in learning more about technology entrepreneurship and innovation. SCET classes welcome students from all majors and levels.
Beginning in Spring 2021, the A. Richard Newton Lecture series became an official Berkeley Changemaker® course. Berkeley Changemaker® is a way to help engineers, humanists, and scientists on campus understand their passion and have the ability to create change and have agency in the world. The A. Richard Newton Series course helps students understand how to pursue their interests and execute them by learning from distinguished innovators.
Note: Starting Fall 2022, all SCET classes will be offered under Engineering course numbers. Prior to Fall 2022, this course was listed under INDENG 95/195/295.
Instructors
Victoria Howell is director, Professional Programs and associate instructor for UC Berkeley’s Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology. She leads the A. Richard Newton Lecture Series: A Berkeley Changemaker® Course, the Center’s flagship program. Her background is in financial services, strategy and marketing, and she now dedicates herself to delivering opportunities/events connecting exceptional individuals to diverse audiences. Her work encourages learning and empowerment for aspiring innovators, entrepreneurs, career-minded professionals and seasoned executives. She holds a BA from University of Virginia and an MBA, from The Darden School of Business University of Virginia.
About A. Richard Newton
The Newton Series is named in honor of former UC Berkeley Engineering dean A. Richard Newton. The Series highlights individuals like Dean Newton, who exemplify the qualities of an innovative changemaker.
A. Richard Newton was a distinguished professor and beloved dean of the College of Engineering at UC Berkeley from 2000-2007. He received his B.Eng. and M.Eng.Sci degrees from the University of Melbourne, Australia in 1973 and 1975. In 1975, he began to work on SPICE at UC Berkeley, a simulation program initially developed by Larry Nagel and Donald Pederson to analyze and design complex electronic circuitry with speed and accuracy. In 1978, Newton was awarded his Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering and computer sciences from UC Berkeley.
He joined the faculty at UC Berkeley as a professor of in 1978, and chaired the Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences from 1999 to 2000. He became dean of the UC Berkeley College of Engineering from 2000 until he passed away in 2007. Robert Birgeneau, Chancellor of UC Berkeley described him as, "dynamic and entrepreneurial; he understood the power of engineering and technology in entirely new ways, and he connected them to address society's toughest problems. The vibrancy of his thinking shaped my own ideas about what engineering is and what it can be."
A. Richard Newton
Featured Video Of The Month
Adam Cheyer - Co-founder of Siri, Change.org, Viv Labs, and Sentient
In this Spring 2021 A. Richard Newton Series Distinguished Innovator Lecture, Adam Cheyer, co-founder of Siri, Change.org, Viv Labs, and Sentient, does magic tricks to show students how to make magical prototypes, and tells the story of the founding of Siri.
Archive
Video Archive
Fall 2023
Vivienne Ming
Self proclaimed Professional Mad Scientist | Chairperson, Socos
Topic: Finding and Prioritizing Problems to Solve
Alberto Todeschini
Distinguished Faculty in AI at UC Berkeley
Topic: AI: It turns out the hype is real
Caleb Boyd
Cal Alum | Co-founder of Molten Industries | 2022 Breakthrough Energy Fellow | Forbes 30 Under 30
Topic: AI: Cal Founders
Kai Koerber & Sam Chen
Kai Koerber: Founder of Koer A.I. | cofounder of the Joy app
Sam Chen: Cofounder and CEO of Fetti
Topic: Cal Student Founders and Raising Awareness
Dr. Christine Ho
Cal Alum & CEO of Imprint Energy (acquired by CCL Design)
Topic: From Founding to Pivoting to Getting Acquired