SRI International CEO Curtis R. Carlson to Participate in The Economist's Upcoming Ideas Economy: Innovation Event on March 23-24

NEW YORK, March 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Curtis R. Carlson, Ph.D., president and CEO of SRI International, will participate in The Economist's second annual Ideas Economy: Innovation conference on March 23-24 at The Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. This year's event will focus on innovation and entrepreneurship. Carlson will contribute to a panel discussion titled "Innovation Circulation" on March 24 at 12:05 pm. Panelists will share ideas for "frugal innovation" – a concept American entrepreneurs need to master as they compete in a global arena.  

As barriers to entry in many industries have begun to disintegrate and innovation has started to shift to the developing world, companies must now function in a climate of constant disruption.  The conference will explore new ways to nourish entrepreneurial activity inside organizations big and small, help companies and individuals better understand the risks associated with innovation and entrepreneurship and fully investigate the systems and structures needed to fuel innovation in the coming years.

"The Ideas Economy event series is approaching the themes of innovation and entrepreneurship in completely new ways," said Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran, Global Correspondent for The Economist. "By asking tough questions of the smartest thinkers on the planet, we are shining a fiery spotlight on the way the world's most creative businesses and individuals really drive growth and prosperity."

"Innovation is now the only path toward growth, prosperity, environmental sustainability, and security," said Dr. Carlson. "America is not going to thrive only on its natural resources, current workforce skills, or easy access to money. America must retain its traditional innovative strengths while adding new skills and programs to improve its innovation ecosystems. The government must help with R&D funding, lower taxes, and the elimination of unnecessary regulations.  Schools and universities also have a responsibility to teach students new, vital innovation skills, so graduates can compete in our global marketplace."

Carlson became president and CEO of SRI International in 1998. Previously he spent more than 20 years with SRI's subsidiary, the Sarnoff Corporation, which is now fully integrated into SRI.

Carlson serves as co-chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Singapore National Research Foundation and is a founding member of the Innovation Leadership Council for the World Economic Forum. In 2010, he was selected to serve on President Obama's National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He advises U.S. governors and prime ministers, economic ministers, and education ministers around the world on innovation, competitiveness, and educational reform.

He co-authored the book Innovation: The Five Disciplines for Creating What Customers Want, published in 2006 by Random House.  It was selected by BusinessWeek as a top ten business book in that year.

In addition to the speakers mentioned above, some of the participants already confirmed to take part in the conference include:

Dr. Charles Camarda, Senior Advisor for Innovation, NASA
Aneesh Choprah, Chief Technology Officer, United States
Scott Cook, Founder, Intuit
Steve Cousins, President and Chief Executive Officer, Willow Garage
Christopher Cox, Vice-president, Product, Facebook
Dr. Peter Diamandis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, X PRIZE Foundation
Jack Dorsey, Twitter Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Square
Chinedu Echeruo, Chairman and Founder, Hopstop.com
Hermann Hauser, Partner and Co-founder, Amadeus Capital Partners
Susan Hockfield, President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ray Johnson, Chief Technology Officer, Lockheed Martin Corporation
Jaron Lanier, Author, "You Are Not A Gadget"
Elon Musk, Founder, SpaceX
Paul Saffo, Managing Director, Discern Analytics
Peter Thiel, PayPal Co-founder and President, Clarium Capital
Deborah Wince-Smith, President and CEO, Council on Competitiveness

Juniper Networks is the platinum sponsor of Ideas Economy: Innovation.  The Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, is the host sponsor.  Silver sponsors include Autodesk and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, and Hotel Durant is the hospitality sponsor. InnoCentive is the Challenge Partner for the Ideas Economy series.

For more information on the program, speakers, or to register for the event, please go to http://ideas.economist.com/.

This event is open to press.  For media registration, please contact Amy Jaick at [email protected] or 212-641-9834.

About Ideas Economy

Ideas Economy brings together Economist journalists, executives and public intellectuals from around the world to discuss and debate some of the most pressing issues of our time.  From its interactive website to its popular event series, Ideas Economy provides insight and analysis on topics such as innovation, intelligent infrastructure, human potential and more.  For more information about The Economist's conferences and the Ideas Economy series, visit http://ideas.economist.com/.

About The Economist

Edited in London since 1843, The Economist is a weekly international news and business publication offering clear reporting, commentary and analysis on world politics, business, finance, science, technology, culture, society, media and the arts.  The Economist has a North American circulation of more than 800,000, a global circulation of more than 1.4 million and more than 4 million monthly unique visitors at The Economist online.  Because of its international editorial perspective, it is read by more of the world's political and business leaders than any other magazine.

About SRI International

Silicon Valley-based SRI International, a nonprofit research and development organization, performs sponsored R&D for governments, businesses, and foundations. SRI brings its innovations to the marketplace through technology licensing, new products, and spin-off ventures. Commemorating its 65th anniversary in 2011, SRI is known for world-changing innovations in computing, health and pharmaceuticals, chemistry and materials, sensing, energy, education, national defense, and more.

SOURCE SRI International