Yearly Archives: 2021

Dr. Ali Emdad is the Associate Dean of the Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. He oversees all daily operations in the Graves School and assists the Dean in setting the vision and strategic priorities for the School. He is the Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Blockchain and Financial Technology (The FinTech Center) where he manages a multi-year, multi-million dollar grant received from Ripple in February 2019. Previously, he served as the Founding Chair of the Department of Information Science and Systems in the [...]

HBCU Students Inform the Block Kickstart Students and faculty joined the FinTech Center and Alabama State University for the HBCU Students Inform the Block Kickstart Event on July 16, 2021 After viewing this video, you will better understand the basics of blockchain technology and the issues it raises from the perspectives of philosophy, economics, policy, and law. Outline and discussion board questions are included in the video. For more information visit fintech.morgan.edu. HBCU Students Inform the Block w/ Brian Estes The FinTech Center is pleased to officially launch the HBCU Students [...]

The FinTech Center at Morgan State University is pleased to OFFER FINANCIAL INCENTIVES to Morgan State University's faculty for innovative course modifications to integrate Blockchain into existing courses. To learn how Blockchain could relate to your discipline, join us for an interactive workshop, for faculty of all disciplines, that will raise awareness of use cases for Blockchain and how the technology is transforming every industry. Morgan State University’s own Dr. Dessa David dives deep into Blockchain basics and answers the infamous question: what is blockchain and why we need to pay attention to it. Dessa J. David, PhD, is an Associate [...]

Inform the Block (Downloadable Word Doc)  Inform the Block (Downloadable PDF) Are you an undergraduate student enrolled at a Historically Black college and University (HBCU)? Do you know a thing or two about blockchain and financial technology? Then, we have an opportunity for you to HBCU Students Inform the Block and share your knowledge through video. What is Inform the Block, you ask? Good question. Inform the Block is a social awareness initiative sponsored by the Morgan State University (MSU) FinTech Center and developed to address the growing disparity in awareness related to blockchain and financial technology. We want [...]

Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett represents the at-large district of the U.S. Virgin Islands in the United States House of Representatives. Plaskett is best known for her understanding of economic development and public-private partnerships. She previously worked at the Justice Department as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Division, where she worked on initiatives to increase the number of minority and women attorneys at the Justice Department. She relocated to her ancestral home of the United States Virgin Islands and worked with the Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority (VIEDA). At VIEDA, she worked on tax incentive programs and [...]

Edwin Aoki is a PayPal Technology Fellow and the CTO of the PayPal’s Blockchain, Crypto, and Digital Currencies (BCDC) unit, where he is responsible for driving sustained growth and innovation in digital asset technology. Previously, he spent nearly a decade as the company’s Chief Architect, tasked with defining the company’s long-term technical roadmap and architecture and advancing the technologies and technologists that have enabled PayPal to become a fintech leader. Before joining PayPal in 2010, Edwin was at Netscape and AOL for more than 13 years as Technology Fellow and Chief Architect, overseeing the architecture and technology strategy for [...]

Anoop Nannra is the Global Blockchain Segment Leader in AWS’ Partner Organization. Anoop is focused on identifying disruptive technologies and accelerating their adoption through business incubation via co-development, co-innovation, and partnerships. Anoop has a proven track record of leadership in corporations and start-ups, delivering world-class innovations in security, optics, media and entertainment, communications, IoT, and blockchain. As AWS’s Global Blockchain Segment Leader, Anoop is responsible for strategy and execution of growing the blockchain partner business with AWS’ global and regional partners. Anoop is also the Chair and Co-Founder of the Open Sustainability Collaborative, a people focused non-profit enabling [...]