A locus for technological innovation for industry and academia in the United States, especially the energy and manufacturing, automation and transportation, and engineered healthcare domains supporting America's future competitiveness, Houston and the Texas A&M University were the model backdrop for the Southern Regional dialogue of the exploring Innovation Frontiers Initiative (EIFI). On November 15th, Dr. M. Katherine Banks, Technology Leadership and Strategy Initiative (TLSI) member, Vice Chancellor for Engineering at Texas A&M University System and Dean of the College of Engineering at Texas A&M University hosted a robust and wide-ranging conversation of business, academic and government leaders.
The Dialogue took place over the course of a single day, with panel discussions concentrating on new innovations and potential barriers to advancement for technology sectors poised to drive economic competitiveness for the United States in the coming decades, followed by student interventions working in these areas. These conversations were preceded by opening keynote remarks from Dr. Greg Powers, Vice President for Technology at Halliburton. The day was spent concentrating on innovation models for next-generation technology and laying the foundation for U.S. competitiveness in the coming decades.
Technology is a critical component of America's future competitiveness, requiring the United States to continually innovate to maintain its productivity and prosperity. At the same time, the pace of innovation is accelerating as a growing number of innovations across the economy unlock new opportunities for productivity. Capitalizing on these opportunities necessitates deep thought on innovation models to ensure they are primed to address an economy in a state of transformation. This thought reverberated throughout the day's panel discussions, focused on energy and manufacturing, autonomy and transportation, interdisciplinary opportunities, and engineered healthcare. Each panel stressed the importance of incorporating cross-disciplinary educational and work models to stimulate new insights, inspire new collaborations across and within academia, industry and government, and acclimate new technology to legacy systems.
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