Tina Seelig
Tina Seelig is the executive director for the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP), the entrepreneurship center at Stanford University's School of Engineering. STVP is dedicated to accelerating high-technology entrepreneurship education and creating scholarly research on technology-based firms. STVP provides students from all majors with the entrepreneurial skills needed to use innovations to solve major world problems.
Seelig teaches courses on creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship in the department of Management Science and Engineering, and within the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford. Tina was recently awarded the 2009 Gordon Prize from the National Academy of Engineering, recognizing her as a national leader in engineering educational. She also received the 2008 National Olympus Innovation Award, and the 2005 Stanford Tau Beta Pi Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. In 2004, STVP was named the NASDAQ Entrepreneurship Center of the Year.
Seelig earned her PhD in 1985 from Stanford University Medical School, where she studied neuroscience. She has worked as a management consultant for Booz, Allen, and Hamilton, as a multimedia producer at Compaq Computer Corporation, and was the founder a multimedia company called BookBrowser.
Seelig has also written 15 popular science books and educational games. Her books include The Epicurean Laboratory and Incredible Edible Science, published by Scientific American; and a series of 12 games called Games for Your Brain, published by Chronicle Books. Her newest book is titled What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20.
“There's a big difference between trying to do something and actually doing it. We often say we're trying to do something-losing weight, getting more exercise, finding a job. But the truth is, we're either doing it or not doing it.”
“Never miss an opportunity to be fabulous.”
“[I]f you have talent in an area and there's a big market for your skills, then that is a great area to find a job.”
“[I]t's important to know whether you're putting energy into something that has the potential to pay off. This is one of life's biggest challenges. We often stay in dead-end situations way too long...hoping the situation will improve.”
“Even though it is always difficult to abandon a project, it is much easier in the early stages of a venture, before there is an enormous escalation of committed time and energy.”
“I've talked with many other people who have found constructive ways to bridge gaps and fill holes that others merely walk around, and in the process have annointed themelves to roles others might not have chosen for them....one of the best ways to move from one field to another is to figure out how your skills can be translated into different settings.”
“Attitude is perhaps the biggest determinant of what we can accomplish.”
“First, opportunites are abundant. At any place and time you can look around and identify problems that need solving....regardless of the size of the problem, there are ususally creative ways to use the resources already at your disposal.”