2023 Ilene Busch-Vishniac Lecture: Ruchika Singhal

Ilene Busch-Vishniac Lecture: This annual lecture features outstanding women in engineering and science. 2023 Featured Speaker, Ruchika Singhal, ’01, President of Medtronic LABS.

Ruchika Singhal:
Breaking boundaries to discover passion, purpose and potential—How I find meaning and happiness in work and life.

During my talk, I will share my career and life experiences—from being a foreign student in a liberal arts college to transitioning to pursue a graduate degree in biomedical engineering.

Singhal has a 20+ year career in health care innovation leading to her role as the head of a social business developing digital health solutions to expand access for underserved communities around the globe.

About the Speaker:
Ruchika Singhal is a seasoned health care industry leader with 20+ years of expertise in international business development, strategy, business model innovation, market development, and R&D.

At Medtronic LABS, she leads a passionate and intrapreneurial team across U.S., Africa, and Asia with the mission to expand access to health care for underserved patients, families, and communities across the world. Through tech-powered and community-based health delivery, LABS is transforming population health management for chronic conditions in low-income settings touching almost one million lives since inception.

Previously, she worked at Medtronic for fourteen years in various roles across strategy, international market development, marketing, and new product development. She has had extensive experience developing businesses in emerging markets and has pioneered new business models to address health care needs at the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid. She is actively involved in mentoring social businesses and is passionate about health care and women’s empowerment, especially in underserved communities.

Singhal received her master’s degree in biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 2001 and a Master of Business Administration in Finance, Strategy, and International Business from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business in 2010.

About the Lecture:
The Ilene Busch-Vishniac Lecture was established in 2003 to celebrate the contributions of former Dean Ilene Busch-Vishniac, the first female Whiting School dean. The goal of the lecture is to feature outstanding women in engineering sciences and highlight the intellectual contributions of the lecturers while inspiring young women to pursue degrees and careers in engineering. Busch-Vishniac is the chief innovation officer and acting chief operating officer of Sonavi Labs, a startup company headquartered in Baltimore. Previously, she served as a professor of mechanical engineering and president of the University of Saskatchewan as well as provost and vice president, academic of McMaster University. Her research focuses on hospital noise control and the use of body sounds for diagnostic purposes. She is the recipient of a number of research, teaching, and administrative awards, including the Silver Medal of the Acoustical Society of America and the Achievement Award of the Society of Women Engineers.