Thermo Electron, a Boston-based company run by two brothers from Greece, invested 20 years in research and development before its landmark invention of an artificial heart in the 1980s.

In a world that is increasingly connected, that is increasingly reliant upon artificial intelligence, that is politically fractured, success has become a measure of how dynamic you can be, how nimble you are when faced with change, and how open you are to lifelong learning.

As our society becomes more digital and connected, the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and math will become increasingly intertwined with every aspect of work.

Twenty Northeastern students have been named recipients of a global fellowship program.

Trends in innovation and disruption, as well as the effect of rapid changes in the international landscape of higher education, were the themes as Northeastern hosted its inaugural Global Leadership Summit in Paris last week.

Northeastern senior David Adames recalled growing up in the housing projects of Brooklyn, New York, where he saw a man “shooting an assault rifle like a water gun,” witnessed a gun fight while he took out the garbage, and encountered a man carrying a firearm and breaking into his building.

Associate professor of philosophy Rory Smead delivered an engaging lecture Thursday night on his work at the intersection of philosophy and science, at an event where he was formally installed as the inaugural Ronald L. and Linda A. Rossetti Professor for the Humanities.

“I start every day with no idea what I’m going to do next. But that’s the way it is for all entrepreneurs,” she says. “You have to be comfortable on shifting ground because that’s part of building your own product.”

Denise Garcia is one of those special professors who can build an international reputation for her work while inspiring platoons of undergraduates in her classroom.