How to create a Bell Labs 2.0 in today’s realities

with Nobel Laureate and distinguished 12th Secretary of Energy,

Dr. Steven Chu

Friday, October 11, 20131:00-2:30 pm, Burruss Hall Auditorium

Inaugural lecture of the Hugh and Ethel Kelly Lecture Series, proudly presented by the Virginia Tech Institute for Critical

Technology and Applied Science and the College of Engineering

How to create a Bell Labs 2.0 in today’s realitiesIn a recent book, “The Idea Factory—Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation”, Jon Gertner notes that for a long stretch of the twentieth century, Bell Labs was the most innovative scientific organization in the world. For three quarters of a century, their scientists and engineers invented the transistor, the laser, the solar cell, information theory, communication satellites, digital transmission, Unix Operating System and C Language, digital signal processing, cell phone technology and much more. The Labs not only invented the future, it invented new ways of nurturing young talent that transformed the communications industry, while many of its alumni have gone on to have distinguished academic careers in science and engineering. Another great research institution that has remained at the top of the scientific world for more than a half a century is the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge, England. Beginning with the structure of DNA and the first protein molecular structures, this laboratory laid the foundations of modern structural biology, and its alumni have had similar impact in biological research.

Today, the country and the world needs innovation to help in the transition to a sustainable world. Will it be possible to recreate the magic of Bell Labs or the Laboratory of Molecular Biology to help solve these problems? Dr. Chu, who spent nine formative years at Bell Labs, shares his thoughts on the special features of these two laboratories and his views on how one might recreate these magical research institutions.

Bell Labs Holmdelphoto by Wikipedia

Abstract

As a member of President Obama’s cabinet from January 2009 until April 2013, Energy Secretary, Dr. Steven Chu managed the DOE’s annual budget of approximately $26 billion with an additional $36 billion through the Recovery Act. Having worked for AT&T’s Bell Laboratories, Dr. Chu created for DOE a Bell-Labs-like culture where employees are valued for their intellectual curiosity and the content of their ideas. To this end, he personally helped identify and recruit a number of outstanding scientists and engineers into government service. He used his leadership to begin some important DOE initiatives including Energy Innovation Hubs, Clean Energy Ministerial and Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E). Created to nurture high-risk, high-reward technologies that achieve game-changing improvements instead of incremental ones, ARPA-E quickly garnered a reputation for its outstanding funding choices and incisive program management.

Prior to accepting his Cabinet post, Dr. Chu served as director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, professor of physics and professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley, and professor of physics and applied physics at Stanford University, where he helped start Bio-X, a multidisciplinary initiative that brings together the physical and biological sciences with engineering and medicine.

Dr. Chu recently returned to Stanford University as the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor

of Physics and Professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology. He remains committed to mitigating climate change through the development of new technologies and business models that will accelerate the transition to sustainable energy. He is unique in his breadth of interdisciplinary research, his international experience and as a visionary leader in the federal government. Dr. Chu remains active on both fronts and is acknowledged as a pioneer in both science and energy policy.

Dr. Chu is the co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics (1997) for his contributions to the laser cooling and trapping of atoms. His other research areas include tests of fundamental theories in physics, atom interferometry, the study of polymers and biological systems at the single molecule level, and biomedical research. He is the author of 250 scientific and technical papers and holds 10 patents. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the Academia Sinica; is a Foreign Member of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Korean Academy of Sciences and Technology; an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Physics and an Honorary Member of the Optical Society of America.

Dr. Chu received his B.A. in mathematics and B.S. in physics from the University of Rochester and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley and has since been awarded 23 honorary degrees.

Following Chu’s lecture, ICTAS Research Day activities continue at Kelly Hall on 325 Stanger Street, site of the institute’s headquarters building. A poster session, laboratory tours, and reception are scheduled from 2:30 - 5 p.m. at this location.

Biographical Sketch

Hugh and Ethel Kelly Lecture Series— catalyzing new research programsGenerous funding from the Kelly Gift to the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS) and the College of Engineering has enabled ICTAS to invite top speakers to the newly named the Hugh and Ethel Kelly Lecture Series. Beyond the immediate benefit of seminal presentations to our faculty, students, and staff, ICTAS will also work to capitalize upon the ideas generated in the lecture series.

Hugh Kelly earned his bachelor’s of electrical engineering in 1937 and a master’s degree in 1938. Later, he worked at AT&T’s Bell Laboratories, where he played important roles in groundbreaking projects, including the 1962 launch of the Telstar communications satellite, the first private venture in space.

Kelly Hall,ICTAS Headquarters