Philanthropists and governments have long used prizes to drive innovation and engagement to produce societal benefit, but the use of this powerful instrument is undergoing a renaissance…
The Air Force is soliciting topic suggestions for a possible X-prize competition.
…the AF Prize idea tournament will have three Phases: 1) Idea Submittal, 2) AFRL Peer Evaluation and 3) Senior Leadership Evaluation and Selection.
During this first Phase, I invite you to suggest suitable topics for a possible Air Force Prize competition.
“What made the American aerospace and defense industry the best in the world was its knack for taking risks, thinking big and delivering a steady stream of innovative gee-whiz products.”
“It’s good to be close to your customer— just not too close”
The John Arnold Design Challenge (via StanfordUniversity)
Professor M. Cummings talks about design thinking (t= 24:03 - 40:22) relative to her experiences with DoD
The greatest strength of America is that people want to live there
“A quarter of America’s engineering and technology firms founded between 1995 and 2005 had an immigrant founder, according to Vivek Wadhwa of Harvard Law School”
College Humor, Busted Tees and Vimeo
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-education-innovate-campaign
8:34 (National Lab Day- to see the promise of being the makers of things, and not just the consumers of things), 9:24 ( Scientists and engineers ought to stand side by side with athletes and entertainers as role models), 11:30 (South Korea- the biggest challenge that I have is that my parents are too demanding), 15:00
“But I believe we have an opportunity now to move beyond the failures of the recent past and to recapture that spirit of American innovation and optimism.
This nation wasn’t built on greed. It wasn’t built on reckless risk. It wasn’t built on short-term gains and short-sighted policies. It was forged on stronger stuff, by bold men and women who dared to invent something new or improve something old — who took big chances on big ideas, who believed that in America all things are possible. That’s our history. And, if we remain fixed on the work ahead, if we build on the progress we’ve made today, this is going to be our legacy as well.”
The Top Ten Lies of Entrepreneurs
not too bad
in US
“For at our best, this nation has never feared the future,” he said. “We’ve shaped the future. Even when we’ve endured terrible storms, we haven’t given up or turned back — we’ve remain fixed on that brighter horizon. That’s how we’ve led in the pursuit of scientific discovery; and in turn that’s how science has helped us lead the world.”