November 16 - Rome, Italy - A.R.T.O.I. - IV Conference of Integrated Oncology Specialists - I keynoted this event which included some of Europe's most distinguished cancer specialists.  More than 200 people attended plus webcast viewers.  I also had a chance to visit the Coliseum and other Roman sites.  The photo (below) shows my great friend Dr. Carlo Pastore (left, who hosted my visit), other conference speakers and Dr. Max Bonucci (next to me on the right), president of A.R.T.O.I.

Video Game/Computing Museum - Rome, Italy - 18 Nov. 2012 - You can see photos from my VIGAMUS presentation in Rome on my Facebook page.  I gave a presentation on the Birth of the Home Computer: 30 Years Later. Marco Accordi Rickards, the museum director, translated while I spoke.  I posed for about 50 photos, autographed VIC20s and t-shirts, and had an absolutely fabulous time!  Most of the Commodore collectors are in their 20s and 30s which was surprising.  The photo below shows my friend Dr. Carlo Pastore, Italy's foremost Commodore collector (left), Marco Accordi Rickards, and me.  During my visit, I gave an interview to a grad. student doing her master's thesis on the VIC20, and an interview for a video game magazine.  I also autographed VIC20s and t-shirts and had so much fun, Nancy and I are hoping to get back on vacation next spring or summer.  

 

 

 

 

September 6, 2012 - Presentation: "Game Changing Innovations: What's Needed & What's Possible" -  Panelist at a meeting of economic analysts for a government agency/sector in Washington.  My presentation focused on radical innovations with economic impact - focus points included the need to replace rare earth materials with "earth abundant" materials, and the need for environmental innovations to offset the impending impact of global climate change.

The IEEE-1784 initiative to develop standards for the use of nanomaterials in electronics is now the Joint Project Team for IEC 62659 (IEEE1784) - I've been serving on the senior leadership of the IEEE committee and now serve on the joint committee. We are making final changes to the standard, based on input from engineers in the global community.

Participated on a panel at a Philadelphia conference for medical device software developers. One of my main insights involved the use of smartphones for portable medical apps.

I've been flattered and humbled by several requests this year to do interviews on my involvement in the development of the first home computers, and on innovation and where we are heading today.  Most of these requests are coming European websites.  In the past few months I've done interviews for websites in Austria, Italy, Germany and most recently, Poland - a photo of me from 1981 graces the cover of the Feb. 2012 issue of this Polish magazine (see photo).  My bio was recently translated into Romanian which was really cool.   In early April, my mentor Jack Tramiel, the founder of Commodore, died and I was privileged to know Steve Jobs.  With the passing of these home computing pioneers, there is renewed interest in the home computer revolution, where I was privileged to play a role.  In March I did a video interview for Joerg Droege at Scene World reminiscing about my experiences at Commodore in the 1980s.  In April my comments were included in an article in Gamasutra.

 

 

Feb. 2012 - I hosted the 14th Annual Emerging Technologies Update Day at Wharton which was entitled "The Future of Nanoinnovation."  Mike Roco, the "godfather" of nanotechnology in the U.S., keynoted the event.  Presentations included DNA analysis, using nanotech to extend biopharma patents, commercialization of graphene, the first carbon nanotube boat...and much more.  In my opening remarks, I shared some insights from my book-in-progress (NanoInnovation: What Every Manager Needs to Know).  This is an annual event I originated in 1998 to provide an "intraveneous injection" of innovation to our partner network and faculty/students at Wharton.

 

October 2011 - Turning Inventions Into Ideas and Innovations was the title of my presentation to in-house inventors, lawyers and innovation managers at a large media company.   It was an enormous pleasure to be invited to be the first speaker as part of their inventor development initiative. The world is changing and media giants will either be at risk or at the cutting edge, depending on their innovation strategy and ability to adapt. In my presentation, I discussed Steve Jobs' contributions in the context of the "The Innovator's DNA" which is a great new book by Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen and Clay Christensen. Jeff Dyer was nice enough to send me an advance copy to read. Great book - I highly recommend it! The key point is that innovators can be trained and groomed - they are not necessarily "born" - the DNA they're talking about is a zest for discovery and an insatiable curiosity that is essential to drive the future.

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June 2011- My week at the University of Leeds in the UK was intellectually stimulating and culturally refreshing.  See more photos and insights HERE.

 

June 2011 -Internal Venturing: Issues, Opportunities & Challenges - Mack Center at Wharton.  I helped organize this interactive "focused theme" workshop (led by Paul Schoemaker), and facilitated one of the 3 breakout sessions (see photo), designed to capture insights/best practices for corporate venturing.  This workshop is a pilot for future events, where our industry partners will be invited to propose topics. 

 

May 2011- Webcast to Intel's Innovation Advocates Network - My topic was "The Ambidextrous Challenge."

 

May 2011 - Olympus Corp. Annual Management Meeting - "Sustainability and Enterprise Innovation."  A poignant occasion, the last company appearance by retiring CEO Mark Gumz.

 

 

Feb 2011 - Wharton Aerospace Conference