Transforming American Industry

Uma Chowdhry was awarded the 2011 Industrial Research Institute Medal for her extraordinary leadership contributions to science and technology. OVERVIEW: The sheer scale of unprecedented worldwide economic and societal change will inevitably lead to a multipolar world. Never before have we witnessed so many developing economies growing rapidly and simultaneously, improving their standard of living and investing boldly for innovation. In this changing world, America will no longer be the single technologically dominant power. To be successful in these turbulent times, American industry needs to transform and be committed to remain at the leading edge of R&D and manufacturing technology, with a focus on sustainability. Anticipating trends, understanding local market needs, collaborating globally, and achieving the scale and speed needed to capitalize on the enormous growth opportunities presented to us are attributes that will determine the winners of the future. KEY CONCEPTS : Sustainability , Scale , Collaborations , Globalization The U.S. dominance of the world's economy over the past half century has been enabled by the creative technology- based innovations commercialized by American industry. As we contemplate the inevitable changes to come, there are many questions on our minds: Will America continue to enjoy the technological dominance it has enjoyed? Will we see these global socioeconomic and sustainability challenges as opportunities and seize them to grow our economy? Will our standard of living continue to follow its historical progress upward? I have an unshaken belief in the American spirit of innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship. This is a fundamental attribute of American culture. It encourages, indeed fosters, individuality, vigorous challenge of the status quo, and a predisposition to exploration and change, as well as optimism and openness. These powerful cultural traits are the root of our success and are diffi cult to emulate. They must be retained and nurtured in the emerging, highly competitive, multipolar world that is exploding with opportunities around us. However, we must recognize and accept the inevitability of the trend to transfer the fruits of our mature, commoditized innovations to the new low-labor-cost, high-growth economies in the world, where they can become the seeds for wealth derived from industrial manufacturing. At the same time, we must continue to invest in breakthrough science and technology to ensure that we remain the principal creators of novel innovations in the leading- edge technologies whose fruits the world needs, wants, and can increasingly afford. The urgent need to restore our eroding manufacturing capability is of paramount importance. Manufacturing must return to being a signifi cant part of our economic infrastructure. This time, however, we must ensure that the renewal of American manufacturing capability is based on a commitment to stay at the leading edge of new technology that is dynamically evolving and rapidly diffusing globally. The headroom for innovation in manufacturing technology is extensive, the iterative interactions between R&D and manufacturing are essential, and therefore their colocation is vital to speeding progress in rapidly growing new technology areas. This aspiration, to invest for manufacturing in the United States, requires a commitment by both government and industry to incentivize and lead technology-based economic growth at the cutting edge of vital industrial sectors. If we do this, and stay the course, we will not only sustain our standard of living, but continue to improve it, in a world where the inequality gap will continue to shrink. Forces for Transformation American industry needs to transform in these turbulent times. Amid the global turbulence we are witnessing today, there are enormous societal, environmental, and technological changes producing fertile territory for transformations. …