The Research and Development budget at Microsoft and other companies is larger than the financial support given to science and technology by the U.S. government.
This was one of the main issues addressed in the latest edition of the President’s Distinguished Lecture Series held on Wednesday, May 23.
Dr. Craig R. Barrett, retired CEO and Chairman of Intel, remarked that the above fact is a crime and discussed several other problems with the progress of the United States in his lecture, “Economic Competitiveness in the 21st Century.”
Stevens President Nariman Farvardin welcomed those in attendance, including several members of the Board of Trustees and Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer, and introduced Barrett.
Following this, Barrett began by discussing how changes in market share occur most often during periods of transition. One example of this was with the dawn of the smartphone. Barrett described how Nokia and Motorola didn’t keep up with the trends and chose to focus on the wrong type of products. Now, they are both owned by other companies. Another example is when a competitor to IBM didn’t believe in the personal computer, causing them to fall into the shadows.
Barrett also shared stories from his experiences at Intel and provided advice as to how companies can stay competitive.
On the topic of investing in education, Barrett stressed the importance of educating the rising generation and promoting the research university to achieve innovation. With smart people and smart ideas, Barrett believes that innovation and advancements will follow. In order to stay competitive, universities need to give students the resources they need and allow them to thrive.
Another large focus of Barrett’s talk was K-12 education in the United States. He currently serves as President and Chairman of BASIS, a charter school organization that has founded many successful, high-ranking schools in the country.
In the question and answer portion of the event, Mayor Zimmer asked how Barrett feels about the relationship between charter and public high schools. She is currently working to improve the education system here in Hoboken, where both types of schools exist. Barrett responded that charter high schools perform best when working independently of other schools. He believes that creating more successful charter schools will eventually force public high schools to improve their offerings and create better schools overall.
Other questions from the audience allowed Barrett to share his thoughts on immigration policy, outsourcing factory workers, and more. After the lecture in DeBaun Auditorium, everyone was invited to a reception in Babbio Atrium.
President Farvardin launched the Distinguished Lecture Series in October 2012, when Norm Augustine, former Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Lockheed Martin, gave the inaugural lecture on “Emerging Technology and its Broad Implications.” For each of the following semesters, Stevens has continued to invite an accomplished leader in science and technology to campus in order to discuss technological advancements and their impact on society.
In the Spring 2013 semester, Dr. John Holdren, Assistant to President Obama for Science and Technology, spoke on the topic of “Science and Technology Policy in the Obama Administration: A Progress Report.” The third lecture of the series, “Challenges and Opportunities of Unconventional Oil and Gas Production,” took place last fall when Dr. John Deutch, Institute Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, addressed the Stevens community.
The President’s Distinguished Lecture Series is made possible in part through a gift from Stevens alumnus, Dr. William W. Destler, ’68, current President of Rochester Institute of Technology.
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