Frederic Bertley
President and CEO, COSI
Frederic Bertley, president and CEO of COSI (the Center of Science and Industry), will deliver the autumn commencement address at The Ohio State University.
Dr. Bertley is a scientist, scholar, and evangelist for innovative thinking, ideation and challenging the status quo. He joined COSI in 2017 with the goal of "shepherding the leading central Ohio science center to its next great iteration in a legacy of successful science center history."
Earlier this year, he partnered with Ohio State to host "QED With Dr. B," a WOSU series exploring the scientific issues that play such a vital role in our daily lives.
Prior to joining COSI, Dr. Bertley was the senior vice president for science and education at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, where he oversaw a diverse portfolio of initiatives supporting innovation in STEM learning as well as departments and programs that capture the history and legacy of The Franklin Institute, such as the Benjamin Franklin Awards Program.
Dr. Bertley is a graduate of McGill University, where he studied physiology, mathematics and the history of science, and also earned a PhD in immunology. He worked internationally in preventive medicine and basic vaccines in Haiti, The Sudan and the Canadian Arctic and continued this focus by joining a vaccine research group at Harvard Medical School focusing on the development of DNA vaccines for HIV/ AIDS.
Among his numerous honors, Dr. Bertley has received an honorary doctorate from Otterbein University and the Harvard Medical School Dean's Service Award, and was named CEO of the Year by Columbus CEO magazine.
Commencement speaker selection
Your help is needed to identify Commencement speakers who can inspire graduates, their families, our faculty, and other guests. The Office of Academic affairs explains the criteria and process for selecting a commencement speaker.
