PhDs, Policies and Patents: Innovation and America’s Future
Innovation and invention drive the American economy, from the light bulb and mass production of automobiles to more recent advances like the smartphone and the coordinated effort to map the human genome. But what new breakthrough sciences and technologies are next on the horizon, and what role can U.S. policy play in creating a positive environment to promote innovative developments?
On Tuesday, June 28, The Hamilton Project at Brookings hosted a forum on the future of innovation in the United States – exploring the challenges to, and opportunities for, furthering advancements to create jobs and spur economic growth.
The forum drew on a wide-range of experts from around the country, including the director of the National Institutes of Health, two former U.S. Treasury Secretaries, one of the nation’s leading private investors in the technology industry, a co-chair of the President’s Advisory Board on Science and Technology, a MacArthur Foundation Genius Award winner, the Chief Technology Officer of the United States, the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and a group of prominent U.S. economists.
Following each of the panel discussions, the participants took audience questions.
Agenda
Welcome
Panel Discussion: The State of Scientific America
Angela Belcher
Professor of Materials Science Engineering and Biological Engineering, MIT
Francis Collins
Director - National Institutes of Health
Moderator: Ann Kellan
Science Correspondent, Cable News Network
Panel Discussion: Obstacles and Opportunities for American Science and Innovation
Michael Greenstone
Nonresident Senior Fellow - Economic Studies
Tim Bresnahan
Professor of Technology and the Economy, Stanford University
Aneesh Chopra
Co-Founder and Executive Vice President, Hunch Analytics
Tyler Cowen
Professor of Economics - George Mason University
Glenn H. Hutchins
Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive, Silver Lake Partners
Remarks on President Obama’s Regulatory Review Process
Cass R. Sunstein
Author, "The World According to Star Wars" - Robert Walmsley University Professor, Harvard Law School
Roger C. Altman
Founder and Chairman
Panel Discussion: A Path Forward –The Future of Innovation in the United States
Eric Lander
Founding Director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard; Co-Chair of the President’s Advisory Board on Science and Technology
Lawrence H. Summers
Charles W. Eliot University Professor and President Emeritus - Harvard University
More Information
To subscribe or manage your subscriptions to our top event topic lists, please visit our event topics page.