Graduate School Distinguished Speaker Series: The Agony and the Ecstasy: From Scientific Research, Technology Innovation to Commercialization

Scientific research, technology innovation, and entrepreneurship are three steps of the research commercialization process that create economic values. They are closely related but different: placing different focus and requiring different mindsets and skillsets for execution. Seldom can one person carry it through from one end to the other. The speaker will illustrate the various success factors by the global development of microelectronics which included players Nobel Laureate William Shockley, Fairchild Semiconductors, Intel and TSMC. It can be shown that the bitter-sweet of innovation and entrepreneurship is sustained by a balance of values constituting the entrepreneurial culture. The roles of the university and government in the process are also discussed.