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At the Intersection of Business, Technology, and Science

"Innovation at the Interface" brings together three of MIT's most prolific talents

As the crowd rolled into Kresge Auditorium, MIT Enterprise Forum chairman Matt Haggerty '83 was spotted talking quietly with a group of MIT alumni. Asked what he expected from the evening's program, Haggerty didn't hesitate. "A record setting event."

Haggerty's expectations were met, as the MIT Enterprise Forum set an attendance record for listeners at its January 21, 2004 event. And what attracted the large crowds? "A dynamic topic and world-class names on the marquee," said Haggerty.

Entitled "Innovation at the Interface: Technological Fusion at MIT," the live broadcast featured three of MIT's most prolific talents who explored the intersection of business, technology, and science. The consensus? The next wave of technology innovation has already started, and it's coming from entrepreneurs who recognize opportunity from the fusion of traditional disciplines.

The program featured the renowned professor of chemical and biomedical engineering, Robert S. Langer CH '74, who is considered by many to be MIT's all-time innovator with over 500 issued or pending patents, and Professor Rodney A. Brooks, one of the country's foremost experts on robotics and head of MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence department. Professor Edward Roberts '57, who chairs the Sloan School's Management of Technological Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group, served as the host and moderator of the program. Roberts, whose expertise in entrepreneurship spans 30 years, was an ideal host, as he brought not only extensive business experience to the discussion, but also a lively voice and a quick wit that added to the intimacy of a live broadcast.

Roberts opened the show by briefly examining technology's historical trend toward fusion, revealing that significant innovation happens when a new technology either breaks the boundaries of an existing industry, or fuses with other technologies to create new hybrids.

Professor Brooks, who was introduced first, illustrated this point immediately by comparing today's robotics with the early days of the computer industry. When the computer finally permeated traditional sciences, a number of fusion technologies emerged, such as bioinformatics, computer-aided design, and computational biology, to name but a few. According to Brooks, today's robotics industry is where the computer industry was in 1978, still out of the public eye and accessible to only a handful of technical wizards. And like the early computer industry, the military and the toy industry have been the early adopters. But Brooks also showed that momentum is shifting, as cleaning robots, lawn tools, and even robotic prostheses are gaining traction in their markets.

Brooks also pointed to an upcoming major shift in American demographics as a force behind the future growth of robotics, as over the next 15 years the U.S. population of adult workers will drop dramatically. This change could create serious talent shortages in the employment markets, which will lead to robotics developing machine solutions, particularly for low-end work.

Then came Robert Langer, whose reputation continues to grow worldwide after his discoveries helped spawn the $20 billion controlled-release drug industry. Langer began by showing how technology fusions can often have very humble beginnings. For instance, early models of artificial hearts were constructed with polyether urethane from ladies girdles, and that early dialysis tubing came from sausage casing. He also gave fellow entrepreneurs a small laugh and some encouragement when he shared some of the disparaging reviews he received from his early work on controlled-release drugs. ("A polymer-drug system would be toxic.")

But in Langer's world, technology fusion often happens on a cellular level. And more times than not, it includes the fusion of engineering and materials with biology and medicine. An area of particular interest to Langer is the work being done in tissue engineering, which fuses material science with biological and medical technologies. The result is that scientists are making significant strides in spinal tissue growth and in growing tissue skin for burn victims. Langer showed before and after photos of a young burn victim who had received this new skin treatment, and the crowd was visibly moved by the dramatic difference. Langer covered a half-dozen or so emerging technologies being driven by technological fusion. His talk ended with an update on recent work on microscopic chips that can be implanted as a drug delivery device. Such work involves fusing a number of different technologies, including nanotechnology, computer science, engineering, and biomedical.

The program ended with a 20-minute Q&A session that revealed how time flies when pioneering innovators are the attraction, as there was no shortage of questions from the audience.

After the program, MIT Enterprise Forum chairman Matt Haggerty was again spotted in the crowd. The final number of listeners and attendees was not officially counted at this point, but his satisfied smile told the real story: things are pretty busy, and downright interesting, at the intersection of technology, science, and business.