More than 60 TUD alumni and community members gathered to mark the occasion of the visit of Rector Professor Ursula M. Staudinger to the San Francisco Bay Area on Friday, August 23, and the energy is already inspiring local alumni to call this meeting their first of a rapidly-organizing new chapter of "SF Bay Alumni" in the region.

The vibrant lunch event took place in downtown San Francisco, generously hosted at the SAP Labs Silicon Valley headquarters, with additional organizational support provided by the German American Chambers of Commerce-West. After a warm greeting from the assemblage, Professor Staudinger presented an update on campus happenings and groundbreaking initiatives currently underway at TUD.

Silicon Valley then took center stage, with a presentation on the future of artificial intelligence (AI) by visionary tech entrepreneur, native Dresdner, and honorary TUD Doctorate-holder Richard Socher, CEO of the AI-based search engine you.com and Co-founder of Salesforce.  The program generated strong interest and enthusiasm from the audience, and engaged discussions continued in small groups well after the formal presentations ended.

© B. Shrama

The TUD community spirit was strong in the room, with alumni representing fields as diverse as aerospace engineering, primary school education, biomedical research, and of course computer science, semiconductor industry and AI-related fields. Professor Staudinger remarked on the success of the event, and the future potential for TUD in the region: "It was inspiring to see so many of our Bay Area Alums in the room being eager to hear about their Alma Mater. Richard Socher sharing exciting visionary thoughts with the group rounded out the experience. The SAP Labs were the perfect environment for our kickoff event for the Alumni Chapter Bay Area.”

TUD Alumni in attendance were equally delighted by the great turnout. "I truly enjoyed today’s event," said Jonathan Old (B.A., International Relations, Center for International Studies, '17), currently in PhD studies in Economics at the University of California, Berkeley. "Until today, I hadn’t been aware how many people from TU Dresden have made their way to the Bay Area. Thanks to this event, I met a diverse set of people from TUD’s alumni community. I hope that our network grows stronger over time."

The strong and positive resonance from local alumni was welcomed by Jeremiah Peterson, TUD’s Coordinator for International Alumni Relations.  "We have close to 200 Alumni in the Bay Area that we know of - this is a popular and desirable destination for our graduates, and they work in exciting fields.  And, we are seeing again and again through TUD's appearances in the United States that our alumni here are very eager to get back in touch with their Alma Mater - and network with each other as well."

© B. Shrama

Further organizational steps are already well underway, with area alumni already forming WhatsApp and LinkedIn "chapter groups" together, and making plans to support TUD's future appearances and efforts in the region, as well as supporting each other in the future.  Dr. Himani Arora (TUD PhD, Engineering Physics/Applied Physics, '20), physicist and Process Engineer at Applied Materials, summed up the energy perfectly: "It was a wonderful experience to reconnect with fellow alumni and celebrate our shared history. Seeing how each of us has progressed professionally and learning about the diverse paths we’ve taken since graduation was truly inspiring. I am excited about the prospect of future meet-ups and potential collaborations, especially given that many of us are in similar industries. This gathering not only reinforced our common bond but also opened doors for future professional networking and opportunities."

Contact:

TU Dresden Alumni Office
+49 351 463 36115