While pursuing her degree in electrical and computer engineering at Duke, Cassidee Kido participated on three Bass Connections teams that helped fuel her passion for energy and the environment. Now a project manager at Energy Solutions, she reflects on the ways her project teams honed her skills and inspired her current work.

In 2022-2023, a Bass Connections team is working to address the shortages of labor, funds and infrastructure in neurosurgical settings around the world. Using the World Health Organization’s health system building blocks - from research and technology to service delivery - team members are assessing the big-picture challenges facing these countries’ overloaded neurosurgeons.

As a junior undergraduate, Kaylin Tsukayama - like many college students - wasn’t sure what direction she wanted to take in her career. She was a neuroscience major and had already spent nearly three years studying the subject and working in labs; yet, she was starting to question whether she wanted to continue in a natural science field.

The 2021-2022 school year marked a series of welcome returns for the 1,200 students, faculty, staff and community partners who participated in Bass Connections. Our 61 year-long project teams resumed their in-person work on campus, many teams participated in their first fieldwork since 2019 and we were once again able gather together in Penn Pavilion to celebrate the year through our annual Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Showcase.

These 10 seniors are among the nearly 600 Duke undergraduates who participate in Bass Connections each year. For some students, taking part in collaborative, interdisciplinary research confirmed and deepened their interests; for others, the experience opened up entirely new paths. Many students found ways to take their research further through honors theses and other opportunities.

DukeEngage independent project participant Naman Parikh ’24 was chosen as the first-ever Chelsea Decaminada Memorial DukeEngage Fellow, which recognizes a passion for international service and doing good in the world. The fellowship was established by the Decaminada family in memory of their daughter, Chelsea ’15, who was part of the 2013 DukeEngage-Kolkata (India) program.

Zhao Ma can’t get enough of Detroit. He participated in DukeEngage-Detroit in 2017 and returned to continue working with his DukeEngage community partner, Tech Town, in summer 2018 through DukeEngage’s Brodhead Service Program.

Duke alumna Dani Davis has compiled a list of resources available to freelance artists and arts organizations during this COVID_19 time.

It is an open share document, so anyone can contribute to its information. Instructions for contributing can be found at the top of the document. 

The Duke Houston Women's Forum collaborated with the Fuqua School of Business for a Table for Six (TF6) focused on women in leadership. The speakers included experts from a variety of industries and functions such as finance, marketing and brand management, architectural building planning, and entrepreneurship. 

Jessica Abroms '98: From Pixar to Disney to Indie App Production: Jessica Abroms is the founder of a mobile app and UX consulting company Teatime Media,  and creator of the M.A.S.H. games. She visited Duke CS in January 2019, and spoke to Duke CS undergrad students. They learned and were inspired by how Jessica's undergrad experiences in computer science influenced her career path.

On February 22, 2019, alumnae gathered on historic boathouse row at the Sedgeley Club, home of the city’s only operating lighthouse, for a discussion with Sanyin Siang '96, MBA'02, CEO coach, author, associate professor at the Pratt School of Engineering and the executive director of the Fuqua/Coach K Center on Leadership & Ethics (COLE). 

The Duke University Energy Initiative has appointed Dr. Eric Rohlfing as an executive in residence.

Rohlfing--spouse of Dr. Celeste Rohlfing (T'79) and parent of Meg (T'09) and Anne (T'12 & M'16)--will join Duke this fall after a distinguished career at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), where his roles included directing the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).

From alumnae venture capitalists to women-led start-ups, Duke women are staking their claim in the entrepreneurial space. On November 14, 2018, the Boston Women's Forum hosted an inspiring conversation with alumnae who are launching new businesses, seed funding new companies and pioneering solutions in multiple sectors.

YAY! Registration now OPEN for Duke U Energy Conf & Alumni Breakfast!

TIME TO SAVE YOUR SEAT FOR THIS NOV. 7 EVENT!