A proposal for a mobile software application that promotes sustainable agriculture and local food consumption sent Brinkley Warren, a UGA graduate student in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications, to Singularity University in California this summer. Warren was a participant at the Silicon Valley think-tank with other graduate students from around the world, labeled future leaders and entrepreneurs. Read why Brinkley portrays the innovative spirit found in the 2011-2012 UGA student body.
Hometown:
Alpharetta
High School:
Milton High School
Degree objective:
Master’s degree majoring in mass media/ART-X
Expected graduation:
December 2012
University highlights, achievements, awards and scholarships:
I recently won a UGA start-up competition and have been in Silicon Valley this Summer at a technology incubator program called Singularity University which has been one of the best experiences of my life. Imagine 80 super smart and entrepreneurial students from 37 countries around the world gathered at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, to apply advancing technologies to positively affect 1 billion people with entrepreneurial ventures. We have been learning from some of the most innovative people in the world such as Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple), Chris Anderson (editor of Wired Magazine), Aneesh Chopra (CTO of the Obama Administration), Peter Diamandis (Founder of the X-Prize), and countless NASA astronauts, genetic experts, nanotech scientists, high tech entrepreneurs and even the executive producer of Family Guy. My start-up team is developing a genetic social network that delivers personalized health and diet plans and empowers social discovery and gamification focused on well being.
I recently won a 2012 Fulbright Scholarship to implement an international art installation that connects New Zealand, the U.S. and other countries via an interactive telematic portal embedded within site-specific sculptures which empower spontaneous social exchange and the real-time co-creation of digital art between cultures. This project began as part of my work in the ART-X program with Dr. Eric Marty who is one of my inspiring mentors.
In 2010 I was part of a great team at the College of Pharmacy who was awarded a ComputerWorld Honors Program Gold Laureate for an idea I had to integrate videoconferencing systems (Cisco) with streaming media systems (Apple) to automate distance learning workflows and scale in-classroom media production.
Other highlights include winning the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences award for documentary film production, participating in the Cannes Film Festival in France as part of the Kodak Student Filmmaker Program, and working with 2-time Academy Award winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple. I’m proud to say that I got certificates from the Institute for Leadership Advancement (Terry) and also the Environmental Ethics Program (Odum) and placed second in UGA’s Next Top Entrepreneur in 2010.
Current Employment:
I work for UGA’s leading online education unit at the UGA College of Pharmacy—Division of Outreach and Nontraditional Education.
Family Ties to UGA:
Most of my immediate family went to the University of Florida so it makes for a great fun rivalry – especially when the Dawgs can pull it out. This is our year, Pops!
I chose to attend UGA because…
it has a great journalism school and music scene. I believe Athens is our country’s most creatively abundant college town. It’s a gold mine of young bold talent.
My favorite things to do on campus are…
go to sporting events and take my dogs running at the intramural fields or walking by the founders garden on old campus. Also I love relaxing by the pond next to the Ecology building (hint: make sure you check out the bluegrass jam sessions on Tuesdays/Thursdays during lunch).
The craziest thing I’ve done is…
I recently climbed to the top of Hangar One in the middle of the night at NASA. It’s one of the world’s largest freestanding structures and was built to hold Zeppelins in the 1930s. It’s mostly scaffolding and after climbing 170 feet, I can remember looking down thinking, “Why am I doing this again?” It was such a rush!
My favorite place to study is…
at my house, either in my office, on my comfy couch or in a lawn chair under the sun.
My favorite professor is…
Dr. Nate Kohn (Grady) for his practical commitment to cross-disciplinary studies, Dr. Eric Marty (Lamar Dodd) for empowering creativity with technology, and Dr. Jim Porter (Ecology) for inspiring the only impromptu standing ovation that I’ve ever witnessed in a UGA classroom.
If I could share an afternoon with anyone, I would love to share it with…
Nikola Tesla and my girlfriend, Jen Staeben.
If I knew I could not fail, I would…
inspire humanity to pursue a higher consciousness, write, direct, produce and star in big budget comedy films, and harness the gray matter that’s trapped in the Earth’s magnetic field to deliver free wireless energy and create abundance for all living creatures.
After graduation, I plan to…
travel to New Zealand, make art, get an MBA, write a book, make a movie, break a kite boarding world record, and build innovative companies that use advancing technologies to change the world for the better.
The one UGA experience I will always remember will be…
…the crisp autumn game days in Athens.