Noble Insights: May 2025
By: Arun Gupta, CEO
Unleashing the Mission-Driven Generation
In the coming weeks, many of the class of 2025 will graduate – including my two oldest, from their undergraduate and graduate programs – into a job market full of uncertainty and opportunity alike.
As I watched Akash and Akshay celebrate these critical milestones, I reflected on the enormous pressure today’s students face to choose who they want to be, often before they’ve had a real chance to explore their options. My advice to the young people across our nation taking the first few steps in their career journeys: give yourself that chance.
In my latest in U.S. News and World Report, I dive into the unique strengths gained by embracing a non-linear path. Spend time in public service, experience mission-driven work and learn how to solve big problems at scale. Then, try out the pace and agility of industry, and grow your capacity entrepreneurial thinking. Return to academia to dive deeper into complex ideas.
The important thing – and a lesson we could all benefit from – is to become a ‘dual citizen’ of the public and private sector. Carry the skills you learn in each sector with you and use them to translate between institutions that use different languages but share many of the same interests. Where institutions reinforce gaps, the right talent builds bridges.
In this newsletter you’ll learn more about:
- Our conversations with universities and partners on how to create more ‘dual citizens’ at scale.
- How we’re building out our board to reflect the cross-cultural collaboration we envision at the core of our future national security, prosperity and competitiveness.
- How you can engage with us to further the development of mission-driven tech talent.
Meet us at the AI+ Expo
The NobleReach team will be at the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCPS) AI+ Expo at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center from June 2-4 to talk all things talent and AI.
At 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 3 in room 209AB, I’ll be speaking on “Catalysts for Impact and Change: Nurturing Talent Pipeline from Scholar to Executive,” a NobleReach-hosted panel, along with:
- Navy Chief Technology Officer Justin Finelli
- Virginia Tech Associate Dean for Research, Graduate Programs, and Centers Rajesh Bagchi
- State of Maryland Chief Human Resources Officer Neal Desai
- Moderated by Washington Times national security reporter Ryan Lovelace
Join us for a rich conversation about the AI talent pipeline, inspiring top talent to explore national security careers and staying ahead of our global adversaries.
Where in the World is NobleReach?
Clockwise from top left: NobleReach staff pose at our table at the Texas A&M Spring Engineering Project Showcase, Arun after receiving this year’s Industry Eagle award from Fed100, NobleReach staff celebrating Linda at the Women in Technology (WIT) Finalist reception, and Arun giving the keynote speech at this year’s GeoTech Conference.
Around NobleReach
This month at our quarterly board meeting, we announced the addition of Dr. Jill Tiefenthaler and Dr. Ralph Semmel to our growing board of directors. As we seek to mobilize America’s talent, commercial power, and cutting-edge academic research to advance our national security and prosperity, Dr. Tiefenthaler and Dr. Semmel’s expertise will be critical to achieving that mission.
Our very own Executive Vice President of Academic Partnerships, Linda Bixby, was selected as a finalist for the WIT Leadership Award for her hard work advancing women in technology throughout her career. NobleReach is proud and appreciative to have her helping further our mission. Congrats Linda!
Earlier this month, NobleReach sponsored U.S. News & World Report event “Leadership of Tomorrow: Challenges and Opportunities in Higher Education,” featuring panels focused on building bridges between government, industry, and academia and how higher education can contribute to the pipeline of talent and innovation in the national interest. I encourage you to read the full livestream of the event here.
Finally, this month, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center announced its third startup spinoff, Spearhead Bi, which aims to complement existing gene editing tools like CRISPR. Founder and chief scientific officer Keith Slotkin’s research was one of the National Science Foundation’s first NobleReach Emerge investigators, and the insights gained from his journey helped inspire the formulation of our new Science to Venture initiative.
How You Can Make a Difference
As we continue to scale our successes, I’m particularly excited about these opportunities for engagement that will reshape how we approach mission-driven innovation:
First, S2V is translating university research into commercial ventures to serve the public good. If you’re involved in university research or early-stage venture development, we want to connect.
Second, we have expanded the Scholars Program to include state and local governments across the country. If you work for a state or locality who could benefit from access to top talent in Artificial Intelligence, Biotechnology, Business Process Innovation, Cybersecurity, or Materials & Manufacturing, we’d love to hear from you.
I look forward to sharing more updates about our work in the months to come. If there are issues you want to hear more from us on or potential areas for partnership, we are always happy to connect. Just reply to this email and we’ll be in touch!