Tech Tuesday: Hardware + MedTech Innovation in Birmingham

This TechTuesday, A Look Into Hardware & MedTech Innovation in Birmingham, is in collaboration with Hardware Park.

About the program

We’re excited to detail that this program will be part short film screening – HP’s new “MedTech Design Experience” documentary – and part riveting discussion surrounding this work.

As usual, the event will open around 11:30am and the program will start at 12pm. Catered lunch is included. Thanks to our sponsor and host Regions for making this possible.

About the panel

Amelia Degenkolb, CEO & Co-Founder, Novocuff

Amelia Degenkolb is CEO and Co-founder of Novocuff, a medical device company working to reduce infant morbidities and mortality caused by preterm birth. She holds a M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from California Polytechnic, San Luis Obispo and has over ten years of experience in maternal health device development.  She was the first employee and lead engineer at a company called Alydia Health, where she helped design, develop, and bring to market, the Jada System, which treats postpartum hemorrhage. She is passionate about women’s health and believes it’s a space where innovation both can and should be pursued.

Jacqueline Chandler, Director at Birmingham Business Alliance

Jacqueline is from Guntersville, Alabama. She attended Auburn University where she studied economics, served as Student Government President & as a War Eagle Girl, and met her husband, Austin. Upon graduation Jacqueline went to work for the City of Auburn as the Director of Industrial Development. While she was there, she focused on the recruitment and retention of value-add manufacturing operations and the development of the innovation ecosystem. She and her husband relocated to Birmingham, Alabama, and she now works at the Birmingham Business Alliance. In her role, Jacqueline focuses on attracting new businesses in the knowledge based economy and high-tech manufacturing operations to the Greater Birmingham Region. She also manages the aerospace and bioscience existing industry portfolio which includes connecting & convening leaders in the industries, aiding the growth of companies, managing expansion projects, and developing solutions to ensure the region is positioned competitively and for continued growth in each industry.

Lloyd Cooper, Design Principal, Push Product Design

As a design principal at Push Product Design, I lead diverse development teams from criteria definition through design for production. I have been fortunate to work on projects ranging from jet skis for Yamaha to spinal implants for Medtronic, but my favorite project is the bicycle that you can ride 30’ in the air over the main atrium at The McWane Science Center. I studied Industrial Design and Mechanical Engineering at Auburn, am married to an amazing artist, and spend most of my free time traveling with my 13 and 15 year old sons for soccer.

Mark Cooper, Executive Director, Hardware Park

Mark moved to Alabama in 4th grade and grew up in Hoover. He discovered a love for teaching when he taught an Algebra 1 class as a senior at Shades Valley RLC High School. Rather than taking the conventional route to a teaching career, he studied mechanical engineering, earning a BS from UAB and MS & PhD from Duke University. He returned to Birmingham after graduate school, teaching 7 years at Homewood High School before moving to Hoover High School in 2003 where he started the Engineering Academy and created the four-year curriculum. He also taught engineering courses at UAB for 12 years. Mark retired from teaching in 2022 and became the Executive Director of Hardware Park in the Smithfield community. He and his wife, Colleen, live in Homewood and have a daughter in Nashville and son in Hoover. Mark and Colleen are active members of Church of the Highlands, and Mark is a member of Leadership Birmingham’s Class of 2024.

{Moderator} Robert Hill, Owner, Uphill Growth

Robert Hill is the owner of Uphill Growth, a growth marketing agency located in Hardware Park. Uphill Growth recently partnered with Hardware Park to promote medtech education in Birmingham.