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Suggested Citation:"A Forum Agenda." National Academy of Engineering. 2010. Rebuilding a Real Economy: Unleashing Engineering Innovation: Summary of a Forum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12851.
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Appendix A
Forum Agenda

Annual Meeting Forum

Rebuilding a Real Economy: Unleashing Engineering Innovation


Monday, October 5, 2009

9:30 am – 12:30 pm, Pacific Time

Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center of The National Academies

University of California, Irvine


The Forum at the annual meeting on October 5, 2009, will bring the perspectives of experienced leaders of various sectors to the critical topic of unleashing engineering innovation in order to rebuild a real economy.

The United States is facing an economic crisis unmatched in recent memory. There is general consensus that this crisis was precipitated by building far too much of our economy on vaporous transactions that did not create real value.

To emerge from this financial crisis and set a sound 21st century course, we must turn our attention to unleashing technological innovation to create products and services that add actual value. As a nation we must refocus on the real economy, and that will require a reenergized innovation system to generate new knowledge and technology and move them successfully to the competitive world marketplace. We must become more productive and efficient at the things we already do well, create new industries, and transform others. We need to address energy, environment, security, and health care delivery in order to sustain our economic stability and quality of life. Our innovation system itself must evolve to meet these large-scale challenges.

Suggested Citation:"A Forum Agenda." National Academy of Engineering. 2010. Rebuilding a Real Economy: Unleashing Engineering Innovation: Summary of a Forum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12851.
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President Obama recently noted that the horrendous loss of manufacturing jobs “underscores the importance of generating new businesses and industries to replace the ones we’ve lost, and of preparing our workers to fill the jobs they create.” Rising Above the Gathering Storm defined the necessary federal investments and policy changes to enable this, the NAE Engineering Grand Challenges and the Academies’ America’s Energy Future set the stage, and now we must focus on execution.

The distinguished panel (see below) will explore the roles of academia, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, global corporations, challenge prizes, and governments in unleashing technological innovation to rebuild a real economy and meet 21st century challenges. They will also share thoughts about what new broadly empowering technologies may develop to facilitate economic growth.


Moderator:


Ali Velshi, chief business correspondent and co-host of Your Money, CNN


Panel:

  • Jean-Lou Chameau, president of Caltech and former provost of Georgia Tech

  • Peter Diamandis, chairman and CEO of the X Prize Foundation

  • Judy Estrin, former CTO of Cisco, serial entrepreneur, and author on innovation

  • Chad Holliday, former chairman and CEO of DuPont

  • Steve Koonin, U.S. Under Secretary of Energy for Science, former vice president of BP, and former provost of Caltech

  • Raymond Lane, managing partner of Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers and former president of Oracle

  • Tony Tan Keng Yam, former deputy prime minister of Singapore, now chairman of the National Research Foundation (of Singapore) and executive director of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation

Suggested Citation:"A Forum Agenda." National Academy of Engineering. 2010. Rebuilding a Real Economy: Unleashing Engineering Innovation: Summary of a Forum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12851.
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Page 27
Suggested Citation:"A Forum Agenda." National Academy of Engineering. 2010. Rebuilding a Real Economy: Unleashing Engineering Innovation: Summary of a Forum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12851.
×
Page 28
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The financial crisis that began in 2008 is a stark demonstration that we as a nation take great risks when we build too much of our economy on a base that does not create real value. Relying on vaporous transactions to generate wealth is no substitute for making real products and providing real services. In the 21st century, the United States and the rest of the world will face some of the greatest challenges of the modern age: feeding a growing population, generating adequate energy without destroying the environment, countering chronic and emerging infectious diseases. The first decade of the new century has shown that technological innovation is essential for the United States and other countries to meet these challenges.

At the 2009 Annual Meeting of the National Academy of Engineering in Irvine, California, a public forum entitled 'Rebuilding a Real Economy: Unleashing Engineering Innovation' brought together seven prominent leaders of the innovation system to discuss the challenges facing America. The insights of the panel members cut to the heart of what this nation needs to do to remain a global leader in the turbulent world of the 21st century.

This summary captures the main points made by the forum participants with the aim of encouraging further reflection and discussion. As the panelists pointed out, no single action can reenergize our innovation system. A portfolio of interconnected and interdependent initiatives must be undertaken to generate new knowledge and technology and move that new knowledge successfully into a competitive world marketplace. But the panelists clarified the goal toward which we must strive and some of the most important steps we need to take to achieve that goal.

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