Sep 1, 2015
This episode of the Robin Zander Show is an interview with theoretical neuroscientist, technologist, and entrepreneur Vivienne Ming, PhD (@neuraltheory).
Vivienne was was named one of 10 Women to Watch in Tech in 2013 by Inc. Magazine and is the co-founder and Executive Chair of Socos, an educational start-up which applies cognitive modeling to deliver personalized recommendations to support learners.
When I first met Vivienne over tea in 2014 I was so excited by what Socos was doing that I volunteered to help. (I've since become director of operations at Socos, and now manage our team.) In this interview we discuss the tools and philosophies by which Vivienne has shaped her life.
Vivienne is a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley's Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience pursuing her research in neuro-prosthetics. In her free time, Dr. Ming also explores augmented cognition using technology like Google Glass and has been developing a predictive model of diabetes to better manage blood glucose levels. She sits on the board of Our Family Coalition supporting LBGT families and speaks on issues of LGBT inclusion and gender in technology. Her work and research has received extensive media attention including the New York Times, NPR, Nature, O Magazine, Forbes, and The Atlantic.
In this interview Vivienne talks very authentically about her experience before and since her gender transition, and what allowed her to choose a life of purpose. She is an international keynote speaker, and we discuss how she uses her talks to refine her ideas.
Finally, we cover Vivienne's life work of Maximizing Human Potential, how she is constantly refining herself, and how Socos is providing parents the same through Muse, a service to which delivers customized daily recommendations to parents to support the life-long development of their children.