UConn Today – When former President Joe Biden revealed in May that he had been diagnosed with an advanced and aggressive form of prostate cancer, the news rattled UConn’s Reza Amin ’18 Ph.D., ’19 MS.
Amin is the CEO and Founder of Bastion Health, the first and largest virtual urology group in the country. Bastion, a UConn startup, addresses men’s health care through at-home diagnostics, specialist-led care, and elimination of impediments to medical attention.
UConn Today – A sweeping and deeply concerning leak of internet user credentials is making headlines around the globe, with cybersecurity analysts confirming that more than 16 billion usernames and passwords have been compromised in what’s being called the largest credential compilation ever discovered online.
Although many of us have been desensitized to data breaches, this appears to be a much more sophisticated concentration of effort and information.
UConn Today – When graduate student Dmitrii Tuzov ’26 MS heard about an opportunity to learn about decentralized AI (deAI) from experts in the field, and potentially create business-enhancing technology, he couldn’t have been more excited.
“My first reaction was, ‘Definitely! That’s what I want to do,’’’ he says. Now in the early stages of the project, he and four other UConn graduate students are learning technical skills, setting goals, and defining the scope of their work. “The deeper I dive, the more I see how big this opportunity is.’’
UConn Today – CREA Foundation, Inc. has created two, renewable scholarships for UConn students interested in studying commercial real estate, and they include bonus opportunities to set them up for success.
“We’re excited and eager to partner with CREA to introduce more students to the real estate industry,’’ said David Wharmby, director of the Center for Real Estate and Urban Economic Studies at UConn. “This gift will ensure that they are not just career-ready but have solid work experience in the industry.’’
UConn Today – Alumnus Rich Eldh ’81, an entrepreneur who created a $300 million global research and advisory firm, told business undergraduates that servant leadership is one of the most important, and misinterpreted, components of business success.
“Servant leadership means leading with strength, for the benefit of others,’’ he told more than 700 graduates, their family and friends, during the Commencement ceremony on Saturday at Gampel Pavilion. “It means empowering your team, fostering growth, and creating environments where others can shine.’’
UConn Today – A friendly competition between two teams of UConn student brewers ended with one victor – but with everyone who got a chance to sample both beers a winner.
The UConn Brewing Innovation initiative – a multidisciplinary hub that partners the College of Engineering, School of Business, and College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources – has been showing students how the beer brewing process works from the ground up since 2023, in collaboration with Connecticut breweries.
UConn Today – Business Law professor Robert Bird has been selected as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar and will spend three months studying human-centered legal strategy and design in Finland next semester.
“I’m excited about this opportunity to collaborate with my peers in Finland, who are doing some interesting work on strategic legal design,’’ he said. “I believe this research will add value to organizations, make complex contracts easier to understand, and benefit my students as well.’’
UConn Today – Marc Massicotte says he was nervous about going back to school after 20 years: Would he be able to balance it all, he wondered.
“The students and teachers created an environment that made it easy to acclimate and succeed in the classroom,” he says.
And after plugging away in the School of Business Flex MBA Program, he’s graduating, and planning – perhaps ironically – to continue on in law school.
UConn Today – Julianna Cushner comes from a long line of UConn graduates, and during her college search, she thought she might opt for a small, business-centric school. But once she toured the Storrs campus, she knew she wanted to continue the family tradition. Cushner has been involved in a number of activities, many of them centered around finance and investments. She is headed to the banking world of New York City following graduation and knows that the UConn network of alumni will be a benefit to her.
UConn Today – Three impressive teams of entrepreneurs, whose startups range from more robust seafood to healthier laundry detergent to a great place for artists to share their talent, won this year’s Innovation Quest (iQ) entrepreneurship challenge.
The winning teams split $30,000 in prize money and will continue to develop their businesses in an advanced summer entrepreneurship incubator program at UConn.