Speakers and Chairs Bios

Curt Carlson in an internationally recognized innovator and thought-leader on the practice of innovation. As CEO of SRI International in Silicon Valley from 1998 to 2014, SRI became a global model for the creation of high-value innovations, such as HDTV, Intuitive Surgical for robotic surgery, and Siri on the iPhone. Carlson’s new company, Practice of Innovation, works with companies, governments, and universities to improve innovative performance.

He served on President Obama's National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, he is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Singapore, and he is a member of the National Academy of Engineering study to develop improved U.S. R&D and innovative outcomes.

Carlson wrote, with William Wilmot, Innovation, a BusinessWeek Top-10 Business Book. The process described is now used by companies, universities, and government agencies worldwide.

His teams have won two Emmys, one for HDTV and one for optimized satellite broadcast image quality.  He won the Otto Schade Prize for Display Performance and Image Quality from the Society for Information Display.

Carlson is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. He has honorary degrees from the Malaysian Technical University, Stevens Institute of Technology, Kettering University, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Carlson received his B.S. degree in physics from WPI as a member of Tau Beta Pi.  His M.S. and Ph.D. degrees are from Rutgers University.