We’re back for another Hardware Meetup!
This month we’re meeting at Expertise Engineering in Sorrento Valley! Expertise Engineering has an in-house staff of mechanical, electrical, FW and SW engineers. Product design, both mechanical, electrical and embedded systems is their specialty. They also work on manufacturing tooling where their full complement of engineers is very useful. They offer their customers these engineering services in the context of great engineering documentation. Check them out here.
Our guest speakers
Kaheawai Kaonohi is the founder of The Disabled Soloist, a hardware company re-engineering non-motorized personal mobility devices such as canes, crutches, and walkers. The company’s mission is to empower independence by changing how these devices are designed, built, and perceived. Its first product is a premium forearm crutch, currently in development with industrial designers, advisors, and early users ahead of launching a prototype and fundraising.
Young Lee is an industrial designer with 15 years of experience in consumer and medical industries. He’s currently working on the Global Product Design team at Dexcom where he focuses on hardware product design. His work centers on creating meaningful user experiences through the integration of design and engineering.
Brian Coullahan is Director, Market Development at Element Biosciences, a company focused on advancing high-performance genomics and multiomics through innovative and flexible sequencing technologies. In his role, he works at the intersection of life sciences, technology, and commercial strategy to help drive adoption of next-generation sequencing solutions and enable scientists to unlock deeper insights from complex biological systems.
Agenda
6:00-6:30 pm – Arrival, mingle, grab refreshments
6:30-6:35 pm – Welcome and introduction
6:35-7:30 pm – Guest talks and audience Q+A
7:30-8:00 pm – Community open mic
Anyone will have the chance for a 2min pitch to demo a prototype or talk about what they are working on.
8:00-9:30 pm – Mix + mingle
Thank you to our partner
informal is a freelance collective for the most talented independent professionals in the hardware ecosystem. With expertise in a diverse range of industries from consumer electronics to automotive, climate tech to medical devices, informal members work with clients at every stage to design, manufacture, and scale top-quality physical products. Whether you’re looking for a single contractor, a full-time employee, or an entire team of professionals to work on everything from product development to go-to-market strategy, the informal collective has the perfect collection of people for the job.
Hardware Meetups happen in over 50 cities around the world, helping bring together founders, engineers, and other hardware professionals to networks, share insights, and collaborate with one another.
Hardware Meetup is a volunteer organization and relies on sponsorships to cover the costs of putting on these events.
We share the RSVP list with sponsors who support 3 or more events. By RSVPing to this event you consent to us sharing your email address and other registration information with our sponsors.
If you want to help support the next meetup, please reach out to [email protected] & [email protected] for sponsorship/logistics inquiries.
Non Profit Resource Fair
NetworkingDiscover tools, connections, and support at the Non Profit Resource Fair – all in one place, face-to-face!
Non Profit Resource Fair
Connect with trusted partners, tools, and resources designed to strengthen nonprofit organizations — all in one place, face-to-face.
Join us for the Nonprofit Resource Fair, bringing together nonprofit leaders and vetted service providers who specialize in supporting mission-driven organizations.Explore practical solutions across fundraising, operations, finance, marketing, and more – while building meaningful connections with partners who understand the unique needs of nonprofit work.
Interested in participating as a partner?
If you are a business or service provider interested in tabling at this event, please email Rose Courtney at [email protected] to express your interest in becoming a Partner with Purpose.
SD ISSA InfoSec Networking Tabletop Exercise Dinner (April)
NetworkingInteractive Tabletop Exercise – Responding to a Disaster Scenario
Overview:
Join us for an interactive cybersecurity tabletop exercise designed to simulate a real-world incident and strengthen your understanding of response and recovery strategies. Participants will be divided into role-based groups and walk through a scenario that unfolds in stages. Each group will discuss and decide on appropriate actions based on their role, responsibilities, and the evolving situation. The exercise encourages cross-functional collaboration and highlights the importance of coordinated incident response and recovery. This will be very relevant to Earth Day/Month in relation to Disaster Recovery & Supply Chain Sustainability considerations.
Hosted by: SD ISSA Education Director – Sydney Solomon, Sr. Information Security Consultant
Lean Lecture Series – Leadership from the Inside-Out: Curiosity as a Superpower with Larry Gilbert
Leaders, LectureYatiri Bio Proteomics Day Featuring Nuno Bandeira, Ph.D.
Biotech & Life SciencesLeveraging repository-scale mass spectrometry data for discovery of proteomics alleles
Yatiri Bio will host its first Proteomics Day of the year, featuring Professor Nuno Bandeira, Ph.D., whose research focuses on computational mass spectrometry and large-scale proteomic analysis. Dr. Bandeira is the Associate Professor at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California, San Diego, and Executive Director of the Center for Computational Mass Spectrometry.
Dr. Bandeira will present: “Leveraging repository-scale mass spectrometry data for discovery of proteomics alleles.”
Please join us on Thursday, April 30th, for a great talk by Dr. Bandeira. Refreshments and discussion will follow the talk sponsored by Thermo Fisher.
2026 SD Hardtech 50 Release Party
Engineering & Developers, Investors & Funding, Startups & FoundersJoin founders, engineers, investors, and operators for the first-ever SD HardTech 50 Release Party — a celebration of the companies building real products and solving hard problems in San Diego.
Each year we highlight the region’s most exciting hardware-driven startups across aerospace, energy, semiconductors, medical devices, robotics, and more.
Now we’re bringing them together in one room.
What to Expect
🔧 Real Hardware Demos
Many of the companies from the SD HardTech 50 will be showcasing their technology live.
See the future of:
Aerospace
Autonomous systems
Sensors
Semiconductors
Advanced manufacturing
Food tech
Medical devices
Energy innovation
No slide decks — just real hardware.
🏆 Official SD HardTech 50 Reveal
We’ll officially announce the 2026 SD HardTech 50 companies and recognize each team.
🎤 Founder Welcome
A short intro with founders building some of San Diego’s most ambitious hardware companies.
🤝 HardTech Community
Meet the people building the next generation of real-world technology:
Founders
Engineers
Investors
Operators
Ecosystem builders
Schedule
5:00 PM
Doors Open + Networking
6:00 PM
Welcome
7:00 PM
Demo Floor + Networking
8:00 PM
Event Close
Hosted By Rising Tide Partners
Builders backing builders.
RTP invests in and supports founders solving hard problems with real technology.
Venue Partner – Firestorm
Firestorm is building next-generation autonomous systems and defense technology right here in San Diego.
We’re excited to host the event inside their headquarters.
Want to Showcase a Demo?
If you’re on the HardTech 50 list and want to bring hardware to demo, you’ll be reached out to.
Want to Sponsor?
We will have a limited number of sponsor partners supporting the event.
👉 Contact Neal Bloom
9th San Diego Hardware Meetup – Medtech – Pathway to Patient-Ready
NetworkingWe’re back for another Hardware Meetup!
This month we’re meeting at Expertise Engineering in Sorrento Valley! Expertise Engineering has an in-house staff of mechanical, electrical, FW and SW engineers. Product design, both mechanical, electrical and embedded systems is their specialty. They also work on manufacturing tooling where their full complement of engineers is very useful. They offer their customers these engineering services in the context of great engineering documentation. Check them out here.
Our guest speakers
Kaheawai Kaonohi is the founder of The Disabled Soloist, a hardware company re-engineering non-motorized personal mobility devices such as canes, crutches, and walkers. The company’s mission is to empower independence by changing how these devices are designed, built, and perceived. Its first product is a premium forearm crutch, currently in development with industrial designers, advisors, and early users ahead of launching a prototype and fundraising.
Young Lee is an industrial designer with 15 years of experience in consumer and medical industries. He’s currently working on the Global Product Design team at Dexcom where he focuses on hardware product design. His work centers on creating meaningful user experiences through the integration of design and engineering.
Brian Coullahan is Director, Market Development at Element Biosciences, a company focused on advancing high-performance genomics and multiomics through innovative and flexible sequencing technologies. In his role, he works at the intersection of life sciences, technology, and commercial strategy to help drive adoption of next-generation sequencing solutions and enable scientists to unlock deeper insights from complex biological systems.
Agenda
6:00-6:30 pm – Arrival, mingle, grab refreshments
6:30-6:35 pm – Welcome and introduction
6:35-7:30 pm – Guest talks and audience Q+A
7:30-8:00 pm – Community open mic
Anyone will have the chance for a 2min pitch to demo a prototype or talk about what they are working on.
8:00-9:30 pm – Mix + mingle
Thank you to our partner
informal is a freelance collective for the most talented independent professionals in the hardware ecosystem. With expertise in a diverse range of industries from consumer electronics to automotive, climate tech to medical devices, informal members work with clients at every stage to design, manufacture, and scale top-quality physical products. Whether you’re looking for a single contractor, a full-time employee, or an entire team of professionals to work on everything from product development to go-to-market strategy, the informal collective has the perfect collection of people for the job.
Hardware Meetups happen in over 50 cities around the world, helping bring together founders, engineers, and other hardware professionals to networks, share insights, and collaborate with one another.
Hardware Meetup is a volunteer organization and relies on sponsorships to cover the costs of putting on these events.
We share the RSVP list with sponsors who support 3 or more events. By RSVPing to this event you consent to us sharing your email address and other registration information with our sponsors.
If you want to help support the next meetup, please reach out to [email protected] & [email protected] for sponsorship/logistics inquiries.
SDRCC April Member-Only Mixer
Collaboration, NetworkingPlease join the San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative for our April Member-Only Networking Mixer on April 30th, 4:30-6:30 PM!
We’re celebrating Earth Month the only way we know how, in community with our wonderful member partners. This event will be an opportunity for members to causally connect, and strengthen relationships with other SDRCC Members working to drive and implement regional climate action solutions. Please feel free to arrive at any time throughout the event window to connect and network. SDRCC will be providing light refreshments; additional food and beverages will be available to purchase at the event venue.
Important Details for Registration
View From The Horizon: A Founder & Investor Conversation Series
Conversation, Investors & Funding, Startups & FoundersCome enjoy the View From The Horizon, Horizon Accelerator’s premier conversation series.
View From The Horizon is Horizon Accelerator’s premier conversation series, bringing together founders, investors, and innovation leaders for candid, moderated dialogue on the realities of building venture-backed companies. In each session, founders and investors share what the capital journey actually looks like — the signals that matter, the decisions that didn’t go as planned, and the strategies that unlocked growth. These are not pitch events. They are working conversations designed to give early-stage founders an honest look at the path ahead.
Session Focus: Corporate Venture Capital and the Founder’s Capital Journey
Hosted in partnership with Qualcomm Ventures, Stanford Angels and Entrepreneurs of Southern California and The Basement, this installment brings together the Qualcomm Ventures team and a panel of portfolio founders — including representatives from Brain Corp — for a frank discussion on corporate venture capital strategy, what investors look for at each stage, and how founders have navigated key inflection points on the road to scale.
This series will be moderated by Pat Giblin of the Horizon Accelerator Advisory Board with guest speakers that include:
More About Our Host: Patrick Giblin is a builder, operator and investor who has spent his career at the intersection of early-stage company formation and venture capital. As a founder, he scaled 451 Degrees Inc. with backing from Andreessen Horowitz, Social Capital, and 8VC, and holds multiple patents in AI/ML. He serves as an Advisory Board Member at the UC San Diego Entrepreneurship Center, where he advises within the Horizon Accelerator — a pre-seed program built on the belief that the best advisors are operators who have lived the hard parts of building a company. He is also a Founding Managing Partner of the Cooper Fund, a UC San Diego-focused venture vehicle designed to close the capital gap for UC San Diego staff, students and alumni while also anchoring economic value in San Diego. Patrick brings a practitioner’s perspective to every conversation — one shaped as much by failure and recovery as by success.
Richard Tapalaga focuses his investments in XR, connected devices, robotics, gaming and logistics. He joined Qualcomm Ventures in 2008 and serves as a Board Member/Board Observer for investments including Airspace, Brain Corp, Netradyne, Nothing, Survios, ThatGameCompany and various strategic investments. Prior to joining Qualcomm, Richard had over seven years of investment banking experience at Merrill Lynch & Co and Société Générale. As a Vice President at Société Générale, Richard led the leveraged finance deal teams in the Gaming, Lodging, Leisure and Media & Telecom sectors.
Albert Wang is a Senior Investment Director at Qualcomm Ventures, which is Qualcomm’s corporate venture fund with $3B AUM. Albert’s current investment focuses are enterprise software and data & AI infrastructures. Some of Albert’s portfolio companies are: Anthropic, Cerebras, Horizon3 AI, SiFive, Plume, Ring, and Mountain Digital, which went IPO last year.
David Pinn assumed the role of CEO at Brain Corp in 2022, where he has held various executive positions since joining in 2017, including Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Financial Officer. During his tenure, Pinn was instrumental in leading Brain Corp’s transformation from a robotics hardware company to a software as a service (SaaS) provider. He played a pivotal role in securing over $100 million in funding from prominent investors such as the SoftBank Vision Fund, Qualcomm Ventures, Hercules Capital, ClearBridge Investments, and Satwik Ventures.
More About Our Partner: Founded in 2018, Stanford Angels and Entrepreneurs of Southern California is building a trusted community where Stanford-affiliated founders, investors, and innovators come together to imagine, collaborate, and shape the future. Through events, pitch sessions, and mentorship programs, it aims to foster an environment that nurtures innovation, accelerates growth, and transforms the region’s entrepreneurial landscape.
Location: Design & Innovation Building, The Basement, First Floor
Getting here: https://dib.ucsd.edu/about/getting-here.html
Economics of Modern Israel, a lecture by Tel Aviv University Economist Adi Shany
Economics, LecturePresented in partnership with the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center
Join us on Thursday, April 30 for a joint event with the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, featuring Adi Shany, an economist at the Tel Aviv University speaking on The Economics of Modern Israel: Growth, Innovation, and Persistent Challenges.
Israel’s economy is a remarkable story that combines world-leading innovation with deep structural challenges. As the United States’ closest and most stable democratic ally in the Middle East, Israel plays a significant role in U.S. innovation, security, and investment networks. This talk traces Israel’s economic transformation from the 1990s to today, showing how it built a global center for high-tech innovation while facing numerous challenges.
Presenter: Adi Shany is a Murray Galinson San Diego-Israel Initiative (MGSDII) visiting professor at UC San Diego in the Department of Economics and the Rady School of Management for Spring 2026. She is an economist at Tel Aviv University. Drawing on Israel’s rich data and unique institutional context, her work generates insights into education, healthcare, and market behavior, with implications that extend far beyond Israel. She earned her PhD in Economics from the Hebrew University.
Parking permits are required for in-person attendees. Please see the FAQ section for parking instructions.
In Vivo Imaging & Flow Cytometry Lunch Seminar
Research, SeminarJoin us for a lunch & learn and discover how our advanced technologies can accelerate your research
Featuring expert insights from:
🔬 Topics include: