Technological Entrepreneurship - A Key to World Peace and Prosperity
Synopsis
Most of the countries in the world lack significant natural resources and are characterized by low standard of living with little hope for improvement due to population growth and mismanagement. This is true also for countries that are rich in natural resources, but do not use them wisely. People that live in countries that enjoy high standard of living are industrious and their countries industrial. The basic reason of this division is technological entrepreneurship nourished by free market economy. Technologically entrepreneurial people make the difference. So, is there hope for everybody on the globe to improve their lives? Can technological entrepreneurship be motivated and taught so that generations of determined entrepreneurs will build up thriving economies? The clear answer to both questions is yes, but the process will take time and dedication. It all starts with education in general and scientific- technical education in particular. There is also a way to expedite the process - start with the already educated engineers and scientists. These are the first candidates for entrepreneurial endeavors. They can do it, but need motivation, continuous instruction and encouraging economic environment until they create successful start-ups and serve as role models for others. The name of the game is motivation. If this nucleus of capable people are motivated toward entrepreneurship, a process can start that will make a huge difference in a life of a country. Living examples to countries that underwent this process are China, Israel, South Korea and Turkey whose societies have shifted from agrarian to industrial within several decades thanks to the spirit of entrepreneurship and the motivation to create high-tech industries led and guided by individual engineers and scientists.
About the speaker
After completing his doctorate studies at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel in 1972, Prof. Dan Shechtman became an NRC (National Research Council, US) fellow at the Aerospace Research Laboratories of Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, where he performed research for three years. In 1975, Prof. Shechtman joined the Department of Materials Engineering at the Technion where he is currently a Distinguished Professor. During 1981-2004 he was several times on sabbatical at the Johns Hopkins University in a joint program with the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (formerly known as the National Bureau of Standards). During this period he discovered by TEM (Transmission Electro Microscope) the Icosahedral Phase which opened the new science of quasiperiodic crystals and performed research on other subjects. As of 2004 he is also a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Iowa State University and at the Ames Laboratory. His current research efforts center on developing strong and ductile magnesium alloys for a variety of applications. Prof. Shechtman is a member of several academies, including the US National Academy of Engineering and the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. He is an Honorary Member of professional societies around the globe and was awarded many prizes including the Wolf Prize in Physics, the Gregori Aminoff Prize of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the EMRS (European Materials Research Society) award and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2011.
