Critical Perspectives on Innovation: Learning From the Past

Event Date: August 29, 2023
Hosted By: ECE
Time: 10:00 am
Location: MSEE 190 and via Zoom
Priority: No
School or Program: Electrical and Computer Engineering
College Calendar: Show
Marcus Weldon
Marcus Weldon
Former President of Bell Labs
Corporate Chief Technology Officer
Nokia

Join us via Zoom!

Abstract

There is a tendency to believe that there is only one model for innovation that ‘works’: the venture capital-funded ‘start-up’ model.  There is no doubt that this model has had success over the past few decades, but at its heart it is often a statistical game of chance, with an associated funding and feedback model that is financially rigorous but that undervalues real technological value or breakthroughs. In this lecture I will review this model in the context of other innovation models that exist or have existed and compare and contrast their relative merits.

Bio

Marcus is currently working on his “next big thing” and helping small, medium, and large companies and institutes formulate their technical and innovation strategies for the next industrial revolution.

Until March 2021, Marcus Weldon was the Corporate Chief Technology Officer for Nokia and was responsible for coordinating the technical strategy and driving technological and architectural innovations into Nokia’s end-to-end networking systems and software portfolio. In addition, as President of Bell Labs, Marcus was responsible for defining and creating the next disruptive innovations and the pioneering research that will form the foundation of the future ICT industry. 
 
Marcus is considered one of the luminaries in the ICT industry in terms of the clarity, depth, and breadth of his vision.  He combined his vision with the power of Bell Labs, to create a unique innovation engine whose goal was to ‘invent the future’ of the networking and communications industry.
 
Marcus holds a Ph.D. (Physical Chemistry) degree from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science and Chemistry) joint degree from King’s College in London, UK.  But more than these formal academic credentials, Marcus has a relentless curiosity that, coupled with a very analytical mind, drives him to continuously learn and understand any problem from a wide array of different angles, and in remarkable depth, across a diverse array of disciplines.
 
Marcus has won numerous technical, scientific, and engineering society awards for his work and technical vision, and leadership throughout his career, but is arguably best known for his ability to distill complex, multi-dimensional problems into the essential ‘simple’ answer or solution that should be pursued.  For this reason, he is highly sought after as an advisor to governmental agencies and departments in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and around the world, as well as to industrial and enterprise CxOs, venture capitalists, and private equity funds, and the larger investment community.
 

2023-08-29 10:00:00 2023-08-29 11:00:00 America/Indiana/Indianapolis Critical Perspectives on Innovation: Learning From the Past Marcus Weldon Former President of Bell Labs Corporate Chief Technology Officer Nokia MSEE 190 and via Zoom