Lecture: Danger of Waiting for 'Perfect Time' to Promote Diversity and Inclusion

The campus community is invited to join Manu O. Platt, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, for a presentation about the dangers of waiting for the perfect time to promote diversity and inclusion.

The lecture will take place at 4 p.m. Sept. 13 in John A. White Jr. Engineering Hall room 209. It is presented by the University of Arkansas Department of Biomedical Engineering.

Critical analyses have concluded the most diverse teams are the most successful and develop the most creative solutions for complex problems, the types of problems the multidisciplinary field of biomedical engineering chronically seeks to address. 

Platt's lecture will address the fear of waiting for the perfect time as a professor, grad student or undergrad to be impactful in promoting diversity and inclusion at your institution.

Sage professional mentors and family elders may advise "going along to get along" and "not making waves" to be successful. Platt will challenge this assumption of the "safe" path to success. Often, if you are the first or the only of a particular demographic category, the path is neither well paved, nor well lit. Platt will discuss the power and the payoff of being unapologetic about identity, the importance of intersectionality, and being intentional in diversifying the workforce. Now.

Platt holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Morehouse College and a doctorate from the Georgia Tech and Emory joint program in biomedical engineering.

He finished his postdoctoral training at MIT in orthopedic tissue engineering and systems biology prior to returning to Georgia Tech and Emory in the joint department of Biomedical Engineering in January 2009, where he has since been promoted and tenured.