President C. L. Max Nikias was featured in a special program hosted by the Nature Conservancy at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica on Thursday, May 2. The event, titled, “The Nature of Our Future: How Global Interconnectivity Is Driving Social Change and Shaping Our Natural World,” explored how technology and philanthropy can be directed toward solving pressing environmental issues.
Nikias interviewed Jack Ma, founder and outgoing chairman of China’s pioneering e-commerce site, Alibaba Group, about environmental challenges in the world’s most populous nation.
Later he moderated a panel exploring the intersection of conservation, technology and philanthropy. Panelists included Niu Gensheng , founder of the China Mengniu Dairy Group; and Jim Berk, CEO of Participant Media, a Los Angeles-based entertainment company that focuses on socially relevant, commercially viable feature films.
More than 500 people attended the event, including USC Trustee Ming Hsieh and his wife, Eva Hsieh, as the panel addressed the questions of corporate social responsibility, environmental sustainability, and the opportunities for research and philanthropy to partner in creating long-term solutions.
Nikias commented that USC’s academic community—in key areas including bioengineering, digital media and communications, renewable energy, among many others—recognizes that the ultimate goal of research is “to build a better world for those who come after us.”