Vanderbilt University School of Engineering Dean Kenneth Galloway and U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon (D-6) are among experts convening Dec. 11 at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, on Pennsylvania Avenue. The conference is titled, “Partnering for American Competitiveness.”
Thursday’s event is the sequel to a national Science and Technology Summit held last summer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, as required by legislation Gordon helped pass 18 months ago. Gordon is chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology
The America COMPETES Act called for a broad range of initiatives, but received only token support from the Bush Administration, which believed it contained wasteful provisions.
As a discussant, Galloway’s task is to examine how “innovation hubs” might accelerate U.S. innovation and competitiveness. Joining him will be the CEO of SRC Semiconductor Research Corp., an executive from the National Governors Association and a Dow Chemical executive representing a National Academy of Engineering working group.
The U.S. competitiveness agenda most recently gained momentum with the 2007 publication of Rising Above the Gathering Storm, a report that has caused considerable alarm about the erosion of U.S. advantages in the face of the global knowledge economy. The report was authored by members of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine.