Dean Huttenlocher. (Photo: Jukay Hsu, via Instagram)

October's Queens Tech Meetup began with a statistic. Coalition for Queens founder Jukay Hsu announced that, since the inaugural June meeting, the group has grown to more than 800 members. While it didn't look like everyone had turned out on Wednesday night, Long Island City's See Exhibition Space was packed, with the chairs almost full and a fringe of folks standing in the back.

Getting top billing were two ambassadors from CornellNYC: Dean Dan Huttenlocher and entrepreneurial officer Greg Pass, Twitter's former CTO.

IRL, the pair are kind of an odd couple. The towering Dean Huttenlocher, clad in professorial business casual (read: a roomy, tucked-in button-down) took the mic like a natural and began holding forth. Mr. Pass stood back, arms crossed in the untucked startup uniform.

"Definitely have to shorten that bio," admitted Dean Huttenlocher as he took the mic, before launching into his spiel: "The Bloomberg administration, I think set the tone here for trying to push tech forward in New York City in all kinds of ways," he said.

"With the applied sciences initiative, at Cornell we have this amazing opportunity to back up and say, 'What should a graduate education and research campus for the twenty-first century look like?'"

For one thing, R&D (in consumer tech, anyway) doesn't quite always adhere to the pipeline model any more. The timeline has shortened, and for another, development isn't necessarily sequential anymore. Often, Mr. Huttenlocher added, "the development of new products drives new research ideas."

"That means there's this huge opportunity to tie academic research and development of new companies and new products much more closely together, not just to drive economic development but also to drive the best academic research in the world," he explained.

Next up was entrepreneurial officer Mr. Pass, who elaborated a little about how the school focuses on life after graduation and the commercial realm.

The school's curriculum, he said, will look a little more like a business school, with the early part of the week taken up with classes and the latter half devoted to "an explicit focus on entrepreneurial life and learning about what it takes to achieve real-world impact." (This, one imagines, is where the mentors will come in.) In fact, as Dean Huttenlocher later added, one of the degree programs eventually offered will be "a version of the MBA," which he described as a twelve-month accelerated program with the prerequisite that one have an advanced degree in a science or technology field.

Perhaps thanks to the rather intimate setting--the See Exhibition Space doesn't hold the hundreds that the Skirball does--the questioners didn't shy away from aggressive questions.

One asked how the school planned to keep companies in the New York area (a fair question, considering the city's investment). According to Mr. Huttenlocher, it won't be anything formal but more of a community-building matter. "The main ways that we're looking at keeping graduates in New York is tying them to New York--and I don't mean physically tying them," he quickly clarified. "Great people with great expertise are going to go where they feel they can have the most impact," and by involving mentors from the local tech community, they'll weave students into that community. Then they'll stay, where their connections are.

Another inquisitor wanted to know which of the "two different kinds of people" in the tech industry the CornellNYC campus would focus on serving. "You have the social people, and you have the tech people, and it's a rather deep dichotomy that does exist," he explained. Mr. Pass, however, disagreed with the fundamental premise of the question: "I'll agree that maybe tech people stereotypically have certain personalities that are less social, but what you're describing is a bad culture. Not all tech companies are that way." Hence, CornellNYC is going to focus on building the kind of culture where there's no such rift.

The questioner wasn't satisfied. "But is the focus of the campus going to be to bring those people [meaning the uber coders, the technically rather than socially skilled] out of their shells, or will it be to get people who are already somewhat social and give them a deeper knowledge of the tech industry?"

Mr. Pass took another pass, settling the matter by saying there's "certainly a culture fit" they're looking for--i.e., they'll select for individuals with at least a willingness to be collaborative.

Mr. Hsu, the meetup's organizer, asked about that touchiest of subjects, software patents--a timely query considering the announcement earlier this month that the Department of Commerce took the unprecedented step of placing one of its patent officers directly on the Cornell-Technion campus. "Our plan on the tech campus is not to shy away from controversy," Mr. Huttenlocher admitted with a laugh, adding "and certainly, with software patents, we've stepped right into the middle of a gigantic boxing ring." The presence of a patent officer has two roles, he explained: One is as a resource for not only the school but also the five boroughs, as well.

The second part is "really opening up a high-level dialogue between the faculty and staff and students of the tech campus, companies in New York, and the patent office, around issues of software patents and some of these controversial topics."

After the Q&A came the demos. It was an abbreviated schedule, with just three companies on the docket. First up was Paid Content founder (and Long Island City resident) Rafat Ali, introducing Skift, a content startup aimed at the travel business. Following him were Hubbl, an app for app discovery (yes, it's named after the telescope--not very startup can be Space X, okay?) and for the finale was See.Me, a creatives' platform formerly known as Artists Wanted and, incidentally, the organization behind the exhibition space where we were sitting that very minute.

Then, after just a couple more beers, everyone dispersed into the Long Island City night.

(Photo: CornellNYC Tech)

The patent wars rage on in the tech world, but today a couple of big names extended olive branches in hopes of brokering a peace--or at least one between the industry and the notion of patents. This morning, leaders from the Commerce Department and Cornell University announced that there'll be a U.S. Patent Office staffer permanently planted right on campus.

That individual will serve as a kind of liaison between the worlds of tech and intellectual property, working to connect university students and affiliates to whatever resources the Commerce Department has to offer. (Before you private sector devotees scoff, that ranges from IP strategizing to government grants.) It's all in the service of speeding innovations from academic notion to marketable product.

This is the first time the bureau has ever devoted such attention to a particular university campus. How you like dem apples, Stanford?

To make the announcement, acting U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank appeared at Google's New York digs with Cornell president David Skorton and a host of local politicos, including both Seth Pinsky and a very tan Charles Schumer.

Secretary Blank quickly clarified there won't be an actual office--wouldn't want the already overworked patent officers besieged by PhD candidates!--but rather just the staffer.

“The resources we’ll provide at Cornell University’s New York City tech campus are a natural extension of the Administration’s commitment to removing the barriers that get in the way of more jobs and more innovation," she said.

It's all part of exploring a new model of university-led innovation, she added, "so we can push even more great American products into the global market."

President Skorton stepped up to say that the program would allow broadening the curriculum to incorporate both academia and industry. Nor will this staffer be kept closeted in the ivory tower--everyone who spoke was very clear the initiative would be available to other schools.

Of course, one wonders how having a patent officer on the grounds of a high-profile tech campus is going to play out, given the rampant problems with patent trolls and the popularity of open source. President Skorton made pointed mention of the discussion, but also said that having a patent point person on campus will help with the process of "figuring out together the sweet spot for IP protection in the software area from trade secrets to patent protection."

It's also probably an indication that CornellNYC won't limit itself to consumer Internet startups, as one doesn't typically wade into biotech without filing some serious paperwork.

Receiving a shout out from Patent and Trademark Office director David Kappos was Stack Exchange. The two have a partnership to get third-party feedback on pending applications and share prior art, with the aim of making patents stronger and more specific. He gave props to the site for having stepped up to the plate. "We're getting discussions going on in Stack Exchange in real time," he said, surely blowing the minds of everyone who's ever attempted to get a straight answer regarding a governmental application process.

Senator Schumer took the floor and first gave props to Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney for wearing the appropriate shade of red. "Almost like rapunzel it takes research and transforms it into jobs and companies," he said of the tech transfer process.

He proceeded to hold up a copper pipe in one hand an iPhone in the other, to illustrate the rapid rate of innovation. Senator Schumer made the point that university founding father Ezra Cornell had held the patent on a pipe-laying machine, making it only appropriate that his should be a leader in the current technological revolution.

The Roosevelt Island Tram sure will be crowded circa 2017.

Artist's rendering. (Image: Cornell University)

CornellNYC is starting to come together. Applications are now being accepted; the infant school has a home with Google until the Roosevelt Island campus is complete. Now the Cornell Daily Sun reports that the debut roster is growing, announcing one name who'll be doing splitting his time between Ithaca and New York and a semester-long visitor from San Diego.

That faculty lounge is starting to fill up! Provided the faculty lounge is actually David Karp's sidecar.

Joining UCLA poachee Deborah Estrin (for the first semester, anyway) will be a Cornell professor of electrical and computer engineering, Rajit Manohar, and a University of California at San Diego professor of computer science engineering, Serge Belongie.

UPDATED: An earlier version of this article suggested that Professors Manohar and Belongie were new, full-time hires. We've updated the relevant portions of the article to make their positions more clear. Betabeat regrets the error. 

Good news for all you Big Apple big data types: Professor Belongie will be teaching "Modern Analytics,"  which sounds like it'll help make the campus fertile ground for hunting new talent. According to the Sun: "His class arose in response to the growing number of high tech companies looking to hire data scientists."

Professor Belongie's comments to the Sun make us wonder--not for the first time--how closely tied the final product will be to the commercial world:

“I felt that had Stanford won, in some sense it would suggest that Stanford would be bringing some of the Silicon Valley-style approach to New York, because that’s where Stanford has excelled traditionally; they’re such an integral part of the culture in Silicon Valley,” Belongie said. “The idea that a different university won, one that’s actually from New York State, presents a really neat opportunity to create something brand new instead of a copy of something that exists somewhere else.”

His point is well taken, but one wonders whether he's ever heard the expression, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Professor Manohar, on the other hand--who's agreed to an intense-sounding half time in New York and half time in Ithaca--will be teaching something a little more hands-on IRL. In "Physical Computing," students will learn to build tech that interacts with the environment. Think smart grids and smart homes. Maybe that manufacturing revival isn't just a product of our fevered imagination, after all.

(Photo: Asilomarssc.org)

Earlier this week, Betabeat had the privilege of speaking with Deborah Estrin, the first academic faculty member announced for Cornell and Technion's $2 billion tech campus. (Coming soon-ish to an island near you!) For an institution concerned with spinning out an army of startups based on the latest technological developments, it's hard to think of a more fitting hire.

Most recently, Ms. Estrin worked as a professor at UCLA, where she founded the Center for Embedded Networked Sensing. She also heads East with a number of accolades, including being named one of the "Brilliant 10" in Popular Science's list of elite researchers. This year, Wired included her on a list of “50 People Who Will Change the World” and CNN called her of the “10 Most Powerful Women in Tech.” That last distinction Ms. Estrin shares with her sister, serial entrepreneur Judy Estrin.

Must be something in the genes: Their mother, Dr. Thelma Estrin, is a pioneer in the field of biomedical engineering. 

Both Ms. Estrin's research in networked sensors as well as Open mHealth--the mobile health nonprofit she cofounded--share a practical bent, tackling issues like traffic patterns, energy usage, and treating soldiers with PTSD. "Her forte is building real systems that solve societal and industrial problems," Charles M. Vest, president of the National Academy of Engineering, said in a press release about Ms. Estrin's appointment. “We are looking for faculty members who have made an impact in the academic, commercial and societal realms, and she’s a superstar in all three," added Dan Huttenlocher, dean of the new campus.

Ms. Estrin won't officially move to New York until January, she told Betabeat by phone, although she did sound right at home on a cacophonous East Village street corner. Ms. Estrin's work in networked sensors is just starting to hit the mainstream, but her emphasis these days is on personalized, mobile health. That being said, she added, "One of the most exciting things about computing technology and the Internet," is its ability to cut across various disciplines. That works with CornellNYC Tech's nimble academic structure, which calls for evolving hubs on health, mobile, and  based on the next big wave in tech.

"It’s not just about one featured hub," Ms. Estrin explained. "Not only are we breaking boundaries between academia and industry, but I think we’ll be paying a lot of attention not to build too many boundaries among ourselves."

The common theme across her academic career, she said, is her inability to resist chasing down the next big technological innovation. "I was in the middle of doing wireless sensors and distributed sensing in the mid-2000s when mobile phones started becoming so much more than talking and texting devices," said Ms. Estrin. "With their data capabilities and programmability, they became really interesting distributed sensors. As someone who came up in a generation in which the Internet emerged, it became far too interesting of an opportunity to leverage. So if these are distributed sensors, then where are they? They’re on people. Moving into applications [that] help people capture data about themselves--the killer app is around personalized medicine and personalized wellness."

"It’s an interesting balance," she added, "where you’re trying to chase, and lead, and herd. All at once!"

In terms of leadership, Ms. Estrin also sounds poised to help change the much-bemoaned ratio of women in the field. "Being a woman technologist is part of the sort of technologist that I am," she said. "I’ve always really benefitted from having other women around--always wished there were more, always looking for opportunities to promote their being more. And so I bring that anywhere I go and I’m looking forward to that on the tech campus as well."

It's an issue that will be increasingly relevant as technology intersects with every facet of our lives. "In these areas that have so much connection to society, there’s lots of opportunities to pull women in from many avenues," she theorized. "Those that are sort of tech-y nerds from the start, as I perhaps was, to folks who want to come in and try to solve problems and get engaged in technology as a great way to do that."

You can also expect Ms. Estrin’s tenure at CornellNYC to emphasize open-source innovation. “Everything we developed [at UCLA] was always open source,” she said. “In our ecosystem, it’s really great when commercial enterprises have open source architecture and open source ecosystems on which to build because companies don’t spend time redeveloping the commodity components, their innovation is sort of pushed up and built on those commodity components and overall the commercial world gets more innovation.”

When this reporter woke up for the interview this morning, she found herself struggling to find something to wear. ("All my lab coats are in the wash," we tweeted.) Turns out that we should've opted for a bow-tie, as Mr. Nye showed up to our interview in Bryant Park in that signature sartorial choice, a green paisley one tied around his neck. On the lapel of his jacket, a Planetary Society pin gleamed in the sun.

Mr. Nye, a resident of Los Angeles, was in New York to promote the work he is doing with Sophia, an online portal that hosts multimedia educational tools to promote social learning. He is helming the Sophia Summer Challenge, which aims to combat the "brain drain" that occurs over the summer. Students can sign up to take short tutorials and quizzes for a chance to win an iPad.

"Half of what you learn about science you learn informally or out of the classroom," Mr. Nye told us, after we'd settled in to one of the green metal tables on the outskirts of Bryant Park. "These kids today are in front of a screen seven hours a day. While you’re doing that, why don’t you do some educational stuff? People really lose their proficiency in the summer--you don’t practice math, you forget how to do it."

"What we want is more science literacy," he added.

Mr. Nye is also the CEO of the Planetary Society, the world's largest space interest organization, which was started by the late great Carl Sagan, one of Mr. Nye's former professors (he believes he got an A in that class, though an A- was also possible). As part of this position, he raises awareness about the Curiosity rover's mission to Mars. Mr. Nye recently had lunch with Elon Musk, the PayPal cofounder who launched SpaceX.

"It's awesome," Mr. Nye said of SpaceX. Before launch, Mr. Musk had a meeting with the board of the Planetary Society, said Mr. Nye. "He sat down with them and said, 'I want to go to Mars. What do I need to do?' And everybody said, 'We need cheap access to orbit.' It's the key first step. Getting to orbit right now is too expensive."

As a proponent of science literacy, what do you make of the gender gap in the field? we asked Mr. Nye.

"My mom was recruited by the navy because she was good at science," he replied. "My mother--and this is not some great-grandmother--my mother could not get an American Express card because she was Mrs. Nye, even though she was also Dr. Nye. She marched in the parade--she told us she threw her bra in the fire--I was not there, though, so I can't verify."

"Science is the best idea humans have ever had," he added. "Half of humans are women, so we want half of scientists to be women. This is a long journey--but the longest journey starts with a single step."

From the man who taught us so much about science, we wanted to know: what did he still find most fascinating about the universe?

"We are star stuff," he replied. "This is to say, you and I are made of atoms that came from exploding stars."

We didn't want to monopolize the chance to interrogate our childhood idol, so we asked fellow "Science Guy" watchers for questions. “Ask him to refute global warming in two sentences,” responded one Twitter follower.

"Global warming is true, whether or not you believe it. Sorry," he retorted.

"What do you make of this whole zombie apocalypse?" one of our Facebook friends encouraged we ask.

"Apparently there are some drugs that can render you pretty useless," Mr. Nye replied. "I joke all the time about how useless zombies are, though. Maybe they're the antithesis of what's cool now. What's cool is to be quintuple-tasking at any time, moving fast, gettin' 'er done, and zombies--along with their slow movement--they seem indifferent to the world around them."

"You don't see a lot of zombies on Facebook," he added.

In the middle of our meeting, a man came up to us and complimented Mr. Nye on his bowtie. "Do you get recognized a lot?" we wondered.

"A couple hundred times a day," he acknowledged. Of his role as a nostalgic figure, he joked, "It's a little disturbing. It's very sweet, it's very nice. I still don't get it. When people say I've affected their lives, I still don't quite get it. I went to work--most weeks--seven days a week. I put my heart and soul into that dumb thing, with the dream that some of you would pursue careers in science and engineering, or at least have an appreciation for it. The ultimate would be if one of you--or a group of you--solve some astonishing world problem."

We were happy to find out that Mr. Nye was familiar with a lot of topics on the tech beat: He raved about the convenience of the app Uber, and expressed excitement about the recent CornellNYC campus announcement.

"I'm hoping they'll give me a job," he added.

Mr. Page and co.

Mayor Bloomberg announced today at Google’s New York headquarters in Chelsea that the company has agreed to provide CornellNYC Tech with 22,000 square feet of free office space while the Roosevelt Island campus is built. The mayor joined Google CEO Larry Page, Cornell President David Skorton and Technion's director Craig Gotsman at a press conference this morning to make the announcement. The value of the space is over $10 million, said Mr. Page.

According to the press release:

The space will allow Cornell to build its presence in New York in close proximity to tech companies and entrepreneurs with whom it will collaborate....Google will initially provide Cornell with 22,000 square feet of office space on July 1, 2012, free of charge for 5 years and 6 months or until the completion of Cornell's campus on Roosevelt Island--whichever occurs first.

Oh good, they opened the conference with this embarrassing video.

CEO Larry Page took the stage following an introduction by Google CIO Ben Fried. The Mayor has “a healthy disregard for the impossible," said Mr. Page. "He sets big ambitious goals and he usually hits them. I’ve learned a lot from Mayor Bloomberg about management and especially his bullpen. I also hear he's learning to code, so I’m hoping I can teach him a thing or two to return the favor."

"When we put the best most innovative minds together today we end up with the best most innovative tomorrow," he added.

Mr. Page then introduced Mayor Bloomberg, "a man who needs no introduction."

"When we envisioned creating such a school in our city and created the compeititon for it, we always expected the school to have close ties to the private sector," said Mayor Bloomberg. "Today Google is certainly getting in on the ground floor."

Of Silicon Valley's tech lead, Mayor Bloomberg joked, "We don’t like to be second to anybody. Google and NYC tech are going to help us seriously close that gap."

"We need to create a new academic model for this time, and this place, and this industry and that's exactly what we're going to do," emphasized Cornell President David Skorton.

In answering a question about whether or not Google would have 'dibs' on Cornell's tech grads, Mr. Page beamed: "I wish."

Mr. Skorton said that the campus would officially open in the fall, and Cornell will be bringing a small number of grad students and professors down from Ithaca to kick off the semester.

One reporter asked who is currently occupying the space. "Did you have trouble renting it out?" he asked.

"Do you know anything about the New York real estate market?" joked Mr. Fried.

"We're going to compact [Googlers] a little more to make room for our friends here at the university," clarified Mr. Page.