Sherman Center Values
Our Mission
Our mission is to enable interdisciplinary student entrepreneurship in the broadest sense by providing education about tools, concepts, and resources to foster creativity and the ability to develop commercially viable ideas.
Since its opening in May 2014, the new program’s curriculum is designed to arm engineering students with the appropriate entrepreneurial skills to successfully pitch and commercialize their innovations. Workshops and courses are led by Northeastern faculty and innovators from industry.
Our Team
For over ten years, Ted J. Johnson has worked in multiple industries in order to perfect his business, leadership and relationship-building skills. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Hospitality Management from UMass-Amherst, and a Master’s of Education from Northeastern University. As the Associate Director of the Michael J. and Ann Sherman Center for Engineering Entrepreneurship Education, Ted utilizes his high energy and commitment to building student opportunities to bring new possibilities to the college’s entrepreneurial repertoire.
Mark Sivak has a PhD from Northeastern University in Interdisciplinary Engineering and serves on the faculty as a joint hire between the College of Engineering and the College of Arts, Media and Design. His research is in the areas of games for impact, rehabilitation robotics, consumer device design, additive manufacturing and experience design. He has written several book chapters on game design for the Well Played series of books as well as numerous journal and conference papers in his areas of research and has several patents in the area of health devices.
Noah Joseph has an Sc.B. In Mechanical Engineering from Brown University and enjoys the hands-on aspect of bringing ideas to realization. He has three years of experience teaching ideation and prototyping techniques to engineering students looking to become better makers as part of the Brown Design Workshop Mentoring program. He also has undergraduate teaching experience in Robotics for both high school and undergraduate engineering courses. His proudest achievement to date is his Computer Aided Design and manufacturing contribution to the EQUiSat CubeSat, Brown's first nanosatillite launched into low Earth orbit in late Spring 2018.
Our Benefactors
Michael J. Sherman, College of Engineering alumnus and tech innovator, is the man behind Northeastern University’s Michael J. and Ann Sherman Center for Engineering Entrepreneurship Education.
Mr. Sherman has 40 years of experience in communications hardware and software development, including wireless applications for military, government, and commercial use. His business, AES Corp., of Peabody, Mass., produces and installs leading-edge security products for organizations and households in more than 130 countries around the world.
“We need to ensure that engineering students are able to communicate in the commercial world,” says Sherman, who graduated with a bachelor of science from Northeastern’s College of Engineering in 1968. In some ways, he said, the “commerciality of innovation is more important than the innovation itself. “It doesn’t matter how good your product is,” he explained. “If you can’t make a business case for its viability then you won’t be able to bring it to market.”
“Michael’s passion for turning innovative engineers into savvy entrepreneurs resonates deeply with our mission at Northeastern,” says Joseph E. Aoun, president of Northeastern University. “Our students thrive on infusing their knowledge with real-world experiences. Michael’s support will be instrumental for our engineering students and the sustainability of their inventions.”
Sherman grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., and moved to Boston in 1963 to attend Northeastern. He credited co-op with giving him the confidence to excel in the business world. “Gaining experience in the work environment made me realize that I could accomplish the business objectives I desired,” he said. “I have always considered Northeastern integral to my career success.”