William Cockayne, Ph.D.
Academic Director for Silicon Valley Innovation Academy, Stanford University

Across the globe, we’re witnessing the rise of a new generation of young inventors and innovators, emerging managers and rising organizational leaders. In his talk, Dr. Cockayne will share what he’s learned from finding and shaping promising moonshot leaders — from once-outlandish ideas that are everyday tools for this cohort, to the class of opportunities they’ll chase as they change the world (and their organizations).

Pat Falcone
Deputy Director for Science and Technology, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Mark E. Jones, Ph.D.
Executive External Strategy and Communications Fellow, Dow Chemical

Established in 1963, the R&D 100 Awards is the only science and technology awards competition that recognizes new commercial products, technologies and materials for their technological significance that are available for sale or license. Over the years, the competition has become more and more competitive, with global submissions coming from corporate entities, government labs and academic institutions. Winning a spot in the R&D 100 can be a huge win for an organization’s marketing department. But how to best secure your innovation’s place in the spotlight? Jones, who had authored many winning R&D 100 submissions — and has served on multiple judging panels — will give insights on where to focus your energy during the submission process.

Dale Dougherty
President, Make Community, LLC

The maker movement demonstrates the potential for an open, collaborative model for R&D where tools and solutions are shared for public good. It can be a way to solve for social impact, and pursue more creative ideas that don’t have obvious business models.

Joe Rickert
Vice President, High Frequency Measurement CoE and Product Management, Keysight Technologies, Inc.

Vicki A. Barbur, Ph.D.
Senior Director, IP and Technology Commercialization, Commercial Business, Battelle

Tony Redondo, Ph.D.
Richard P. Feynman Center for Innovation at Los Alamos National Laboratory

Dan Kara
Vice President, Robotics, WTWH Media

Erin O’Driscoll, Ph.D.
Global Ventures and Business Development Director, Dow Chemical

Anne Marie Knott, Ph.D.
Robert and Barbara Frick Professor of Business, Olin Business School, Washington University

For years, there has been no way to measure R&D performance. On the one hand, this was bad news — it meant CTOs didn’t have a way to demonstrate their returns justified higher budgets. But on the other hand, it meant no one could tell how well the CTO was doing. That’s all about to change. FCLT, the organization that’s trying to increase long-termism among investors and companies, is going to publish report cards of companies long-termism, which also scores them on the factors driving long-termism. The second most significant factor is R&D productivity. In this talk, Dr. Anne Marie Knott of Washington University will define the RQ measure of R&D productivity, and help firms get in shape for their first report card.

Dan Gamota
Vice President of Digital Engineering Services, Jabil

Smart industrialization has evolved over the last 10 years and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Join Dan Gamota as he discusses this evolution and how innovation plays a key role. Explore how the keys to success – team, tools, collaboration, and communication – are the foundation to the path forward for smart industrialization. All while learning from real-life examples from various industries and products.

Sarah T. Eckersley, Ph.D.
Global R&D Director – Coating Materials, Monomers & Plastics Additives, Dow Chemical Company

The ‘chicken or egg’ question is the subject of healthy debate among researchers and their marketing colleagues. Our view on the topic informs our innovation strategies and investments. Eckersley’s presentation will use case studies to explore the question as it relates to materials development — present and future.

Dan Kara
Vice President, Robotics, WTWH Media

How do you duplicate a Boston Dynamics environment to come up with the kind of spectacular products that the company has developed? What innovation strategies are being used in the robotics industry to create state-of-the-art technology? Kara will examine this fast-moving market and give insights into what to expect in the coming years.

Jennifer McConnell
Product Manager, Protochips, Inc.

Jackie Bernhelm
Founder in Residence, Area 120 | Google
Founder | Stride

Santhi Analytis, Ph.D.
VP of Engineering, Treau

Aimee Kalnoskas
Contributing Editor, EE World, WTWH Media

Jeanine Johnson
Co-founder & CEO, SunToWater.com

Alec Sorensen
Founder and CEO, Tradespace

As the pace and complexity of innovation accelerates, IP has become an increasingly important consideration for R&D organizations. A robust, data-driven IP strategy can help organizations make better decisions on where to focus R&D, increase collaboration within research departments, and foster strategic partnerships with other organizations to share knowledge and get technology from the lab to the market.