Speakers

Richard Lester is founding director of the Industrial Performance Center and a professor of nuclear science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He currently leads two major research projects: the MIT Energy Innovation Project, exploring strategies for upgrading the US energy innovation system, and the Local Innovation Systems Project, an international research collaboration investigating the technological transformation of industries in regional economies and the role of universities in that process. His latest books include Innovation: The Missing Dimension, a study of the sources of creativity and innovation in advanced economies; Making Technology Work: Applications in Energy and the Environment; and The Productive Edge: A New Strategy for Economic Growth. A coauthor of recent MIT reports on the future of nuclear power and coal, he has published many articles on the management and control of nuclear technology and materials.