BELLINGHAM, WA, USA- 8 September 2008 -Solar, biophotonics, and next-generation lighting technology experts with success in leveraging invention and intellectual property into profit will provide insights at a Photonics Innovation Summit sponsored by SPIE this fall.
The SPIE Photonics Innovation Summit will be held at the San Francisco, CA, Airport Marriott Hotel on 6 November. The Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) and University of California Berkeley (UCB) Haas Business School and Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation are participating as cooperating organizations.
"This conference will do something special in addressing the innovation process as applied to solid-state lighting, biophotonics, and solar energy," said Event Chair Steve Eglash. "Several of the most successful innovators will discuss how creativity and persistence led to their revolutionary contributions."
Keynote talks will be given by:
- Henry Chesbrough, author of Open Innovation:The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology and Executive Director of the Center of Open Innovation at the Institute of Management, Innovation and Organization Management of Technology Program, UCB
- John Kao, author of Innovation Nation, chosen by Business Week as one of the ten best books of 2007; Chairman and CEO of Kao and Co.
- Joseph Goodman, William Ayer Professor, Emeritus at Stanford University, speaking on "Transfer of University Innovation to Industry: Paths and Pitfalls."
Break-out sessions focus on the role of technological innovation in three important and rapidly expanding markets. Topics and speakers include:
- Solar Technology: When Cost Competitive?; Richard Swanson founder of Sun Power, Chris Eberspacher of Applied Materials, and Scott Elrod of PARC
- Biophotonics: Innovation in Process and Procedure; Lesa Mitchell of the Kauffman Foundation, David Benaron of Spectros Corp., and Jean-Luc Vanderheyden of GE Healthcare
- The Next Next-Generation of Lighting: LEDS and OLEDs; Peter Visser of Philips Lighting and George Craford of Lumileds.
A session on "Paths to Funding" will feature:
- Jennifer Ernst of PARC
- John Lushetsky of the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) Solar Technology Program
- Craig Cornelius of Hudson Clean Energy Partners.
They will give their perspectives on working with multinational corporations in converting advanced research into high-value business opportunities, the DoE Solar Program, driving innovation through industry partnerships, and growth-stage financing for equipment manufacturers in the renewables sector.
While SPIE presents more than 25 technical forums and exhibitions annually that connect optics and photonics researchers and developers, the SPIE Photonics Innovation Summit is unique in speaking directly to the needs of senior executives in the industry, on one of the key themes in business today: innovation.
Registration and other information is at spie.org/innovation.
