Former SRI Chief Shares Pathways to Innovation in Industry, Higher Ed

Dr. Curtis Carlson, the former director of the prestigious Stanford Research Institute (SRI) — which helped pioneer Siri, the computer mouse and HDTV, among other technologies — visited Stevens Institute of Technology on October 6 to speak about the urgent need to foster greater innovation in industry and higher education. The talk was part of President Nariman Farvardin's President's Distinguished Lecture Series (PDLS).

In a wide-ranging discussion that touched upon examples from as far afield as Finland, Singapore and Australia, as well as an innovative new program in K-12 mathematics education SRI has developed here in the U.S., Dr. Carlson laid out a convincing case that we have fallen behind in this area — but that this is also a prime opportunity to reboot our thinking about innovation, and that this must be done immediately. He also shared some insightful suggestions and guiding principles from his own experience.

► Watch Dr. Carlson's lecture