Don Millard, Deputy Division Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation Corps Sites Program, will discuss the NSF’s funding strategy for an Innovation Ecosystem and its support of research driven entrepreneurship. Dr. Millard’s talk will take place on Tuesday, October 13th at 2:15PM in 250 Sutardja Dai Hall. This talk is sponsored by the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology and co-hosted the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) in collaboration with the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department.
Title: “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 reality. 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.
About Dr. Don Millard:
Dr. Millard is the Deputy Division Director of the division of Engineering Education and Centers (EEC), within the Engineering Directorate at the National Science Foundation. He is also currently serving as the Acting Division Director. Since coming to NSF in 2010, he has been involved in the Advanced Technology Education (ATE) program, the EHR Core Research (ECR) program, the Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program, the Math and Science Partnership (MSP) program, and the Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (TUES) program. Prior to joining NSF, Dr. Millard spent 27 years at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. During his many years at Rensselaer, he served as a faculty member of the Electrical, Computer, and Systems Department and directed a number of research centers; including the Center for Integrated Electronics.
Dr. Millard’s research interests include engineering education, electronics design, electronics manufacturing, electronic media development, information technology, electrical testing methodologies, semiconductor fabrication, and non-destructive inspection and evaluation. He is the founder of the Mobile Studio project, which enables students to learn and perform experiments that use an oscilloscope, function generator, digital control, and some form of power supply – at anytime, anyplace. He holds a patent for the development of a laser-induced, plasma-based Non-Contact Electrical Pathway and has received such awards as the Best Paper Award of the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) and the Premier Award for Excellence in Engineering Education Courseware. Dr. Millard has been voted Professor of the Year on three occasions, selected as RHA Professor of the Month and was chosen as the Eta Kappa Nu Outstanding Professor.