“ Ocean conservation is a crazy puzzle of ecology , economics , sociology , policy and politics .”
— Ayana Elizabeth Johnson , MS ’ 09 , PhD ’ 11 , founder and president of Ocean Collectiv , a strategy consulting firm for conservation solutions grounded in social justice .
Discovering Disruptors
Allison Long Pettine ’ 04 runs venture funds like SEED San Diego and Crescent Ridge Partners , growing prospects for local startups and creating an environment that will keep innovators in our backyard .
“ Staying engaged is a small way I can give back and show my gratitude for the richness UC San Diego has brought to my life , and I hope to help current students find their own paths to success as alumni .”
— Alex Schafgans ’ 05 , MS ’ 07 , PhD ’ 11 , principal scientist at Cymer , who met his future employers ( and fellow alumni ) while volunteering on the UCSD Student Foundation .
David Caspi ’ 02 developed a cure for hepatitis C with the pharmaceutical company AbbVie . But he traded his lab coat for computer code upon founding Element TwentySix , an IT solutions company with clients across the globe . While the shift may seem odd , he says there are actually many parallels : “ Fundamentally , my PhD taught me how to solve problems that have never been solved before . And that ’ s exactly what my company does .”
Three words about UC San Diego :
— Peter Preuss , MBA ’ 14 , Director of Business Development for Tecate Group
Keri Yen Ng ’ 02 has helped put more than 40 innovative medical devices into the hands of physicians and patients , shifting the standard of care for cardiovascular and women ’ s health . She is now a vice president at Willow , a startup that has revolutionized the breastfeeding pump , which hadn ’ t seen an update in more than 30 years .
Albert Hsiao , MS ’ 03 , PhD ’ 05 , MD ’ 07 , came to UC San Diego for medical school , but doubled down when he saw how medicine can benefit from a variety of
perspectives . “ Weighing conflicting information to arrive at the correct diagnosis often takes an analytical mindset — something engineers are quite good at ,” he says . He now advocates for more underrepresented students to explore careers as physicianscientists like himself .
For more on the 40 under 40 honorees , visit alumni . ucsd . edu / 40under40
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TRITON | SPRING 2018