I was kind of depressed after yesterday AM's Futures Forum at the PBL Building at Case.
Neosa and REI@Weatherhead put together a dynamite panel moderated by Dr Luis Proenza, president of the University of Akron.
Manuel Glynias, the founder of NetGenics represented Biotech. Lev Gonick, CIO of Case represented higher education and IT, Scott Rickert, President of Nanofilm Ltd. was there for nanotechnology and Industry Week’s John Soat gave an IT and Journalism perspective.
Except for Rickert who saw great promise, especially locally, for nanotech, the others were more sobering. It seemed that many of the things that have to be done to make our community, country and world improve the way they could and should are beyond our control. Self-serving and shortsighted politicians have too much power and are reluctant, if not adamantly opposed, to considering the broader vision and hence, the broader good.
That doesn’t mean we quit trying - we actually have to try more - lots more.
My mood picked up Wednesday evening. John Nottingham & John Spirk spoke at the JCU Entrepreneur’s Association dinner meeting at MOCA. Their brilliant designs have yielded numerous companies, countless jobs and hundreds of millions in revenue for the area. Their focus on consumer products, 70% of the US economy, was in contrast to the morning’s glimpse at bio, nano and info tech.
Check out the review of Nottingham & Spirk and wait for the mood upswing.
