Mountain West Innovation Summit At University Of Wyoming Unites National Leaders To Advance U.S. Competitiveness

Cheyenne WY

15 June, 2022

7:10 AM

Description

Press release from University of Wyoming: June 13, 2022 The University of Wyoming will host distinguished leaders from across American industry, higher education, national laboratories and government to develop concrete policy recommendations aimed at keeping the United States at the forefront of innovation and economic competitiveness. The Mountain West Innovation Summit will take place June 21-22 at UW's Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center. It is co-hosted by Ed Seidel, UW president; Greg Hill, president and chief operating officer of Hess Corporation and a UW alumnus; John Wagner, director of Idaho National Laboratory; and Deborah Wince-Smith, president and CEO of the Council on Competitiveness. All four hosts are national commissioners of the council's flagship initiative, the National Commission on Innovation and Competitiveness Frontiers. The summit brings together leaders to address opportunities to expand the country's "geography of innovation" to the Mountain West and places such as Laramie. The national commission's seminal report, "Competing in the Next Economy," as well as significant work in Washington, D.C., and around the country, is focusing on strategies to broaden and deepen the country's innovation capabilities. The summit also will focus on three additional critical issues facing the region and nation, including the future of: -- Sustainability and energy. -- Scaling and deploying disruptive technologies. -- Work and the workforce. "We're delighted that Wyoming's university is hosting a summit that will bring together a rich mix of stakeholders and policymakers to discuss and develop policy recommendations regarding some of the major challenges facing the nation," Seidel says. "Today's economy is changing at an unprecedented speed, and universities, companies, states and nations are scrambling to adapt. Partnerships across these industry players are critical as we work to lay the groundwork for the new economy in Wyoming as a fundamental part of UW's land-grant mission." Among the keynote speakers confirmed for the summit are Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon; National Science Foundation (NSF) Assistant Director Erwin Gianchandani, who is leading NSF's newest directorate in over 30 years, focusing on "Technology, Innovation and Partnerships"; and Canoo Technologies CEO Tony Aquila, who is manufacturing electric vehicles in the United States, making the case for researching, innovating and manufacturing at scale in the United States. "The United States has stood apart from the rest of the world during the past half-century in its record of sustained innovation -- across industries old and new, and through the ups and downs of economic cycles -- yet today faces new realities and imperatives," Wince-Smith says. "We must be more creative, more intentional in developing new models for regional and national innovation. Our work in Wyoming is a first step toward this effort for our National Commission on Innovation and Competitiveness Frontiers." For more information about the summit, including the agenda and details on free registration, go to https://compete.org/mountain-west-innovation-summit/. This press release was produced by University of Wyoming. The views expressed here are the author's own.