Innovation Day
Chemical Heritage Foundation, 15 September 2009

Alex Soojung-Kim Pang
askpang@future2.org
http://www.askpang.com
(650) 483-8651
Flexible/transportable energy sources and devices-- e.g., solar cells on textiles
Discovery of alternative sources of energy-- e.g., ocean energy, solar cells
Transitions in the global economy
New forms of batteries and energy transfer
Rising price and decreased availability of petrochemical feedstocks drive alternative energy: wind, solar, and bio-based feestocks
Replacement of petroleum based energy with green energy alternatives
ENERGY
Energy issues range from global economic transitions, to replacement of petrochemicals as an energy source and the development of alternatives, to micropower and energy storage.

Energy is consistently voted one of the three most pressing challenges for science and innovation in the 21st c.
Increasing regulation in rapidly developing economies
"Products that are 100% recyclable"
Consumer willingness to absorb costs of eco-friendly materials?
"Improve energy efficiency-- get more performance for less"
Process intensification in manufacturing
More creative use of industrial by-products
Achieve increasing productivity while reducing carbon footprint
From carbon-oxygen cycle to hydrogen-oxygen cycle
GREEN CHEMISTRY AND ENGINEERING
Switch from petrochemical based to renewable based feedstocks
From petrochemical high temperature, high pressure process to low-temperature enzyme catalyzed systems with plant materials and other raw materials.
At the center of the map is green chemistry and engineering. If energy, resources, health and regulation present major challenges in the coming decade, green chemistry-- which includes efforts to develop environmentally low-impact (low-energy and low-water) manufacturing processes, renewable sources for synthetic products, cradle-to-cradle processes, etc.-- may represent the solution.

Another notable feature of this map is the relative unimportance of nanotechnology, which workshop participants described as a subset of materials, or a set of tools rather than an autonomous field or research agenda. Engineering school deans take note: if you want long-term impact, start green chemistry programs, not nanotechnology programs.
Increased deployment of networked sensors of all kinds throughout the environment
"Green issues will become more important with the public in more of the world"
Service opportunities (or threats?)-- real-time delivery of environmental information or status updates
Information dissemination and a mobilized citizenry
New interface challenges
development of high throughput technologies
high throughput affecting experimental work and R&D
speed to innovation
High Throughput
increased use of powerful computers in chemical practice
increased use of modeling: more data in; more knowledge out
greater availability of modeling
Modeling
Zero discharge manufacturing becomes compelling for economic, regulatory, and design reasons
"Make less of what's not needed"
Learn to convert waste to useful products
Zero Discharge Manufacturing
Regulatory demands help drive design of zero-discharge plants
"New silicons"
Nanotechnology
nanomaterials regulations
development of multifunctional, responsive smart materials
Wider use of nanotechnology in materials and medical applications
Recyclable, renewable, sustainable products
Increasing crude oil and other raw materials prices will drive greater work on using renewable resources
MATERIALS
Renewable resources
Raw materials: petro/bio/etc.
Lack of water for materials processing
Reducing water consumption at manufacturing facilities
Water treatment methods for expanded supply
Scarcity of clean water
WATER
RESOURCES
Closely allied to energy issues were natural resources, particularly water, but also oil (as an industrial material).
Learn to work with "others"
USA will have increasing dependency on foreign-born scientists
Shifts in global seats of power from west to east
Workforce supply /availability
Nurturing young scientists at primary school level
Increasing numbers of chemists and engineers from outside North America and Europe
Talent
innovation as strategic priority
increase in pace / demands of research
interdisciplinary innovations: chemistry + biology / materials + physics
blue sky research publicly financed or done by small entrepreneurs?
ORGANIZING INNOVATION
Crossover technology: advances in biotechnology, materials, other areas spark human health advances
Dramatic improvements in our understanding of brain processes
New developments of drugs and delivery mechanisms, but also medical and safety concerns
Chemistry and biology go hand in hand in new drug development and delivery
Humans living longer, spending more on health
Moore's law analog for life sciences
HEALTH
Another important driver of innovation in the next decade is health. As populations in the western world and Asia age and grow more prosperous, spending on health will increase.
aging population = growing demands for health care
Science and the Public
"Information technology enables greater access to more information"
GLOBAL PROBLEMS
shifting population centers (globally and rural / urban)
global warming
chemistry must be useful to the base of the pyramid
redirection of chemicals for increased food production
More environmentally friendly regulations covering raw materials, processes
Intellectual property protection in emerging markets
Increasing environmental regulations
Decentraliztion / fragmentation of regulation
regulations around climate change and global warming (e.g., CO2 tax)
Global standardization of regulations, either through formal means (e.g. EU programs) or informally (EU as de facto global standard)
REGULATION
Another major factor affecting innovation in the coming decade is regulation. Here, the picture is mixed: while everyone agreed that more regulation of chemical processes, energy use, and environmental impacts is likely, some participants see the potential growth of official or de facto global regulatory standards, while others argued for a more decentralized, patchwork future.
China and India will have massive population agglomerations by 2050: dealing with the challenges of having 100m people in urban regions will be a major S&T policy goal.
citizen scientists
enabled by GPS, cellphones, P2P computing, lab on a chip
from public engagement to public involvement
fieldworkers
occasional challengers
New geography of science
R&D more urban, linked to local skills and culture
Expanded global network incorporates "small powers"
South-South innovation networks
Indian Ocean as new nexus
Revival of applied science
Renewed respect for making stuff
Wild card: Nanotechnology and biomimicry may be much less important than we expect.
Made in Prezi: http://prezi.com
by Kitchen Budapest
Web 2.0 and science
Sharing tacit knowledge
Informal publishing (e.g. JoVE)
Community-building
Energy
Resources
Health
Regulation
Global Problems
Green Chemistry
Innovation Day 2008