In this edition of futurecore, we’re bringing builders, creatives, and curious minds together in Downtown LA – as part of LA Climate Week.
Featuring insight from MIT Media Lab energy entrepreneurs on building resilient, thriving communities, alongside Apple App Studio, Sankari‘s work on turning play into climate learning and engagement.
Between talks, our DJ keeps the energy moving with thought-provoking artwork setting the backdrop. Come ready to connect, get inspired, and leave a little closer to that thing you’ve been building.
Robert Poor‘s unabated love of music and passion for technology led him to enter the job market as a janitor in a recording studio for the Grateful Dead, which fortuitously introduced him to the Stanford Computer Music Center (CCRMA) and the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab (SAIL). A few more turns of the crank saw him designing laser film printers at Lucasfilm, working for Steve Jobs at NeXT Computer, and eventually entering the MIT Media Lab. It was there that he dreamed of adding wireless links to microprocessors, subsequently co-founding Ember, one of the earliest companies to develop chips for the “Internet of Things”. He now keeps Pacific Time in Los Angeles and is showing the world that abundant, clean energy is not only possible, but is already at hand.
Dr. Brent Ridley is currently an Impact and Translation Director at the MIT Climate Project, focusing on the commercialization of transformative climate and energy technologies. Previously, he was a Technology-to-Market Advisor at ARPA-E, focusing on the data center cooling portfolio. At Otherlab, he led an interdisciplinary research team and spun out Skyscrape, a company developing temperature-responsive clothing and fabrics that launched its first product with Ralph Lauren at the 2022 Winter Games Opening Ceremonies. He also co-founded Kovio, a printed electronics company that grew out of his work at the MIT Media Lab on inorganic semiconductor inks.
Rex turned a storytelling instinct into environmental action. As co-founder of Sankari Studios, she built Katoa – an Apple-featured game where players heal the Great Barrier Reef, with every in-game action backed by sponsors’ funding real restoration. Hear how she went from creative vision to shipped product, and what gaming as a climate force looks like from here.
The venue is wheelchair accessible.
Free and open to the public. Registration required.
