Advances in AI, robotics, energy, sports science more to be recognized at May event
The 2025 class of Innovate100 Leaders to Be will he celebrated May 13 in New Brunswick — and Stevens professors Brendan Englot, Philip Odonkor and Antonia Zaferiou will be among those honored.
The recognition is conferred annually by Innovation+, a global community of entrepreneurs and innovators, to showcase top innovators.
“It is only through sustained and visionary leadership that innovation can thrive,” said Innovation+ founder James Barrod. “That is why we didn’t simply honor CEOs, presidents and department/division heads, but also their colleagues who drive innovation throughout companies and organizations.”
Englot, current director of the Stevens Institute for Artificial Intelligence, designs AI-powered navigational systems for autonomous vehicles such as underwater drones and boats, among other research projects.
“It is an honor,” said Englot, “to lead the multi-disciplinary team of scientists, engineers, artists, business experts and creative thinkers who belong to the Stevens Institute for Artificial Intelligence — together we are working to embody one of our university's core values of ‘through collaboration, impact.’”
Odonkor, director of Stevens’ Design Informatics Lab, focuses on energy analytics and smart-cities planning. He recently conducted a comprehensive study of U.S. homes and their energy resiliency during extreme weather.
“I'm deeply honored to be part of the Innovate100,” said Odonkor. “As Helen Keller wisely noted, 'Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.' This perfectly captures the spirit of innovation here at Stevens and in New Jersey — it flourishes through shared insight, collaboration, and our collective vision to move our state forward.”
Zaferiou, director of the Musculoskeletal Control and Dynamics Lab and the inaugural Presidential Faculty Fellow, develops novel technologies to analyze and improve gait, mobility, agility and sports performance, including recent projects to enhance how older adults control their balance by developing music-based biofeedback as a movement training technology and to understand the fundamental biomechanics used by baseball pitchers.
“In our group, we innovate through transdisciplinary divergent thinking, for example, by infusing art into engineering in our musical biofeedback designs,” said Zaferiou.
“For us, it’s all about thinking big, being open-minded and making sure everyone’s voice is heard. Further, we leverage the mechanical basis of human movement to uncover fundamental movement mechanics during some of the most complex human maneuvers, like the baseball pitch or how we maintain balance during turning behaviors.”
The Innovate100 ceremony will take place at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center May 13.
