MIT AgeLab director to speak at Coe Contemporary Issues Forum
Dr. Joseph F. Coughlin, Ph.D.
Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) AgeLab, Joseph F. Coughlin, Ph.D. will speak at the 17th Annual Coe College Contemporary Issues Forum at 7:30 PM Feb. 18 in Sinclair Auditorium.
Dr. Coughlin’s career research provides insights on how demographic change, technology, social trends and consumer behavior converge to drive future innovations in business and government.
Author of “The Longevity Economy: Inside the World’s Fastest Growing, Most Understood Market,” Coughlin focuses on enhanced quality of life by developing new business and policy strategies that respond to the demands of today’s and tomorrow’s older adults.
Based in MIT’s Engineering Systems Division, Coughlin teaches policy and systems innovation and is the author of the online publication Disruptive Demographics. He is one of Fast Company Magazine’s “100 Most Creative People in Business” and was named by the Wall Street Journal as one of “12 pioneers inventing the future of retirement and how we will all live, work and play tomorrow.”
Coughlin is a Behavioral Sciences Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and a Fellow of Switzerland’s World Demographics & Aging Forum advising and speaking to businesses, governments and nonprofits worldwide.
Established by the late K. Raymond Clark '30, the Contemporary Issues Forum presents the views of distinguished leaders whose work has shaped and altered the course of world events. The forum has featured former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, former Polish President Lech Walesa, deep-sea oceanographer Robert Ballard, civil rights activist Myrlie Evers-Williams, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, "Doonesbury" cartoonist Garry Trudeau, ecology expert Jared Diamond, documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Leonard Pitts, celebrated author Sir Salman Rushdie, former Senate Majority Leader and Special Envoy George Mitchell, Pulitzer Prize-winning global health expert Laurie Garrett, legendary soccer player Abby Wambach, leading commentator on race Jelani Cobb and environmentalists and social entrepreneurs Yvon Chouinard and Craig Mathews.
This year's event is in collaboration with Mercy Medical Center Cedar Rapids.
Coe values its location and relationship with the Cedar Rapids community and looks forward to providing insightful contemporary forum issues. Established in 1851, Coe has a national reputation for academic excellence enhanced by a student-centered, highly supportive campus environment. Our success in offering superb academics and exciting co-curricular activities stems in large part from our location in a thriving urban setting that promotes student growth and success. As such, we welcome the community to participate in this event.