Creating a National Innovation Ecosystem

America's prosperity has originated in part from the ability to capitalize economically on groundbreaking discoveries from science and engineering research. Simultaneously, a knowledgeable, creative workforce has maintained the country's global leadership in critical areas of technology. A strong capacity for leveraging fundamental scientific discoveries into powerful engines of innovation is essential to maintain our competitive edge in the future. This presentation will provide an overview of NSF's investments in the creation of a national innovation ecosystem that helps accelerate the process of translating an idea into realty. It will offer a strategy for creating a culture of innovation in academia, identify resources and opportunities for researchers to strengthen their translation efforts, provide a few examples of NSF activities that have produced early impact, and suggest scenarios for future initiatives and partnerships that expand our nation's entrepreneurial spirit.

Speaker: Don Lewis Millard, Deputy Division Director (Education), NSF