A Call to the “Innovation Generation”

Posted by E. William Colglazier / January 20, 2012

Dr. E. William Colglazier, Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State, celebrates the launch of the Innovation Generation with winners of the Conrad Foundation Spirit of Innovation Award, all students at Thomas Jefferson Science and Technology High School, in Washington, D.C., on January 19, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

As the United States and nations worldwide work to build their economies within the context of the global marketplace, the ability to innovate is the most basic and essential underpinning. As I travel worldwide or meet with foreign guests in Washington, D.C., one of the most common questions for me is to describe the U.S. system which leads to innovation. What are the policies which support innovation and what are the practices on the ground which propel innovation? My response always touches on the need to invest in education and scientific research, to value and protect intellectual property rights, and to support a system which allows failures while celebrating success, which seeds promising ideas with funds, and which nurtures future innovators.

If the fundamentals are right, innovation proceeds, economies grow and solutions to tough problems, including energy… more »

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