Innovation Requires Risk, but… Government Risk?

What is the government’s role in driving innovation? Listening to Senators during the recent Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearings on the Energy Department loan guarantee program (specifically loans to the now-infamous Solyndra), you’d think the federal government has no role in American innovation. The lawmakers love it when they can show up at… Continue reading Innovation Requires Risk, but… Government Risk?

ARPA-E on the Practical Side of (Energy) Innovation

Leaders talk about growing a green economy and developing clean energy solutions, but the (mostly-male) talent trolling the halls of the Gaylord National Harbor Convention Center for the ARPA-E 2012 Innovation Summit last week was filled with folks actually doing it. One of the keynote speakers who brought the engineers face-to-face with reality was Steve… Continue reading ARPA-E on the Practical Side of (Energy) Innovation