Carnegie Mellon University's Pradeep K. Khosla will moderate a distinguished panel of innovation experts from 7 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 10 at the fourth annual Washington Speakers Series at the Cosmos Club at 2121 Massachusetts Ave. NW in Washington, D.C.
For link to event and RSVP go to: Washington Speaker Series Overview. The panel discussion, "Inspiring Innovation: Reinventing the Theory, Practice and Policy of Transformational Change," will feature Robert D. Atkinson, founder and president of the Washington, D.C.-based Information Technology and Innovation Foundation; Erica R. H. Fuchs, an assistant professor of engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon; Robert K. Gardner, founder of New World Technology Partners; Egils Milbergs, executive director of the Washington Economic Development Commission; and Rep. David Wu (D-Oregon), chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation. Prior to the panel discussion, Jack Goldman, creator of Xerox PARC and former physics professor at Carnegie Mellon, will speak about innovation. "We need to change the way we track innovation, and this distinguished panel will discuss how breakthroughs in the way information is processed and handled can improve the so-called knowledge flows," said Khosla, dean of Carnegie Mellon's College of Engineering. Understanding how the quest for innovative products influences markets and how to manage it effectively through a changing, global workplace is key to any kind of transformational change in both the private and public sectors."
Egils Milbergs of the Washington Economic Development Commission will discuss how the Great Recession will result in new directions for innovation policy. Drawing on his experiences as a research director in Silicon Valley, policymaker in Washington D.C. and innovation practitioner in the Pacific Northwest, the realities of integrating innovation strategy with action will be offered for discussion. "States are being forced to reexamine their economic development models and do something different and come out of this period stronger, more innovative and competitive. One cannot command innovation from the top. Too often innovation theory has little connection to the real dynamics of innovation leadership, assets and capabilities. An Innovation Economy must be intrinsically and organically driven from the bottom up. By building regional innovation ecosystems, there becomes less of separation between thinking about innovation and doing innovation. The approach has implications for the nation's long term economic recovery and ways to address energy, education, health, transportation and manufacturing challenges."
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