The third annual Brown Biotech Expo is not just for career-oriented students, according to organizers of the event.
The expo, which is a combined career fair and educational forum, will take place on the Main Green and in Sayles Hall from 1-5 p.m. today.
The 17 companies represented at this year's expo - which is jointly sponsored by the three-year-old Brown Biotech Interest Group and, for the first time, the Career Development Center - all fall under the biotechnology umbrella, but there is variation in their topics of interest and type of work.
The term biotechnology encompasses much more than the "one track" image of big pharmaceutical companies, Biotech Expo Chair Lauren Dicola '05 said. "People usually wouldn't think that small startups would be a part of that," she said.
Dicola and Peter Cheifetz '01, chair of BIG, said that biotechnology also includes nonprofits, consulting and intellectual property and patenting law.
Some of the companies coming to Brown today include Aerotek Scientific, Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks P.C., TGA Sciences and Lahive & Cockfield LLP. Axon Sleep Research Laboratories, founded by Brown students and alums, will also be at the expo.
"It's a great opportunity to network with companies hiring for internships or looking for students to work in a nonprofit, or for jobs for future years," Dicola said.
"Our mission is twofold," Cheifetz said. "It's a career fair, but it's also a way to educate, to get biotechnology out there and learn what opportunities lie there."
Associate Director of Career Development Barbara Peoples emphasized what a "strong pull" alums are, calling them "very supportive and instrumental in getting their companies to come back to campus, and then to promote their companies (at Brown)."
During the Expo, representatives will give presentations on "the more general biotech industry and major controversies, the breaking news," Dicola said. Contentious topics such as stem cell research and cloning tend to be of more interest to Brown students, she added.
Presentation titles this year include, "Reverse Osmosis, Deionized Water and Distilled Water Systems 'Today!,' " "Cell Labeling and Tracking" and "Minimum Essential Information: Harnessing the Economy of the Immune System."
Peoples will present "Networking Tips and Strategies for the Biotech Expo." Peoples said she plans to offer students advice on approaching employers, making a positive "first impression" and how to follow up on those connections.
