The Superhero Way

A roundup of 71 North updates

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71 NORTH
October 14, 2025

The Superhero Way

Welcome to a world where extraordinary powers create extraordinary problems. This year's Startup Standup challenges you to innovate for a superhero-saturated society to create value and make an exciting pitch. Whether that's designing tech for the heroes themselves (what features does Iron Man's suit really need?) or creating essential products for the everyday civilians navigating collateral damage, super-villain attacks, and powered neighbors. Think Alfred's butler tech, insurance for laser-eye accidents, or apps that help you avoid superhero battle zones on your commute. How will you make a superhero start-up?

When: Saturday, October 18, 2025, 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM 

Where: 71 North Partnership Studio – NIU Founders Library (lower level) 

Activities:

  • Theatricality and You: Improv for Everyone workshop. Dive into some improv exercises designed to help you think on your feet, boost your creativity and enhance your communication skills in a fun and interactive environment. Dr. Anna Klis, associate professor, Department of Economics & Russ Devereaux, Associate Director, NIU STEAM.

  • Your Hero Journey: A Product Story, by Dr. Lynn Herrmann, professor, Department of Public Health & Health Education, NIU, and Federico Bassetti, assistant director, Office of Innovation, NIU. 

  • Standup Cup With MC Russ Devereaux, Associate Director, NIU STEAM. Teams present their act to a panel of judges and the audience.

There is no cost; the event is free, food and snacks included.

Open to all NIU Students, Faculty, and Staff.

Register for the event and invite a friend, it will be fun!

❝

 “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

Winston Churchill

This Week at 71 North

Tuesday:

9:00-11:00 AM: Morning Brew & Write - Writing Group for Grad Students & Post-Doc

12:00-1:00 PM: Innovation Pages, Hooked - Facilitator: Matt Deitch

2:30-3:30 PM: Innovation Pages, Leaders Eat Last - Facilitator: Jordan York

3:30-4:30 PM: LEAP - Lean & Agile Community of Practice Meetup

5:00-6:30 PM: Tech+Tacos Tuesday - HPC Cluster at NIU, featuring Dr. Sergey Uzunyan, Director of Science and Engineering Center for Research Computing and Data.

Tech+Tacos Fall 25

calendar.niu.edu/event/tech-tacos-fall-25

Wednesday:

1:30-3:00 PM: HuskieVerse Planning Meeting

3:15-4:45 PM: NNGO 352 - Nonprofit Program and Development

3:30-4:30 PM: Innovation Pages, Give and Take - Facilitator: Dr. Anna Klis

Innovation Pages

Author: Adam Grant — how generosity and reciprocity fuel collaboration and long-term success.

calendar.niu.edu/event/innovation-pages

5:00-7:45 PM: ECON 691 Research Tools for Economists

5:30-6:30 PM: C.A.U.S.E. Student Club Meeting

Thursday:

10:00 AM-12:00 PM: Faculty Writing Group - The Faculty Grant Writing Group is open to all NIU faculty and will provide participants with quiet, dedicated time and space to work on writing for external funding pursuits. 

12:00-1:00 PM: Unplugged Conversations - Step away from screens and rediscover the art of conversation, Facilitated by Julie Ann O'Connell

Unplugged Conversations

Each session invites us to slow down, listen deeply, and explore ideas together in an open, welcoming circle. No phones. No laptops. Just people, presence, and meaningful exchange.

calendar.niu.edu/event/unplugged-conversations

3:00-6:30 PM: HON-310 Open Source

4:30-6:00 PM: Indie Game Developers Org Meeting

Northern Exposure: Where Curiosity Meets Research

Research is focused on the interactions of stress, emotion, behavior, and neurobiological processes using animal models.

https://calendar.niu.edu/event/northern-exposure-where-curiosity-meets-research

Friday:

11:00-4:00 PM: VespaMode - Development of Vespa Simulator in VR

1:00-2:00 PM: Northern Exposure: The Heart-Brain Connection: How Coping with Stress Promotes Health, by Angela Grippo, PhD

3:30-5:00 PM: HuskieHackers - embark on coding adventures.

6:00-7:00 PM: Proxima Centauri Alpha - Ingenuity in action - STEM Focused Students Organization

Monday

3:00-4:45 NNGO- Nonprofit Program and Development

5:00-7:20 PM: Opportunity DeKalb: Breakthrough Community Business Academy

Looking Ahead:

NSF I-Corps Introduction by Chad Ulven

Interested in taking your research to the next level through the NSF I-Corps program? Come and engage with Chad Ulven, Director of the Great Plains I-Corps Hub. Chad will provide an overview of the program and talk what it takes to apply and participate in this immersive, entrepreneurial training program.

Monday, 4 PM- 5:30 PM

https://calendar.niu.edu/event/nsf-i-corps-introduction

Looking Back:

TechTaco was featured in Northern Star by Caleb Johnson.

Code, community, carnitas at weekly Tech Taco event

Students and community members gathered in small groups to learn about the latest in programming technology, a programming language called Julia. The room was nearly full, with around 20 people in attendance. For those interested in learning coding, the event “Jump into Julia” is a good introduction. Julia is an open source programming language used...

northernstar.info/128670/lifestyle/code-community-and-carnitas-at-weekly-tech-taco-events

Random Hack of Kindness went great!

CHILL’s Burmese Lantern event was a hit!

Take a moment to review 71 North on Google Maps