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The IT Innovation Summit – Sacramento Executive Committed was pleased to announce the participation of Judith Estrin, Chief Executive Officer JLABS, LLC and Author “Closing the Innovation Gap”  a McGraw-Hill publication at the IT Innovation Summit – Silicon Valley event that took place at De Anza College October 15, 2010 Cupertino, CA.

At the crack of dawn of my 21st birthday, I was sitting in a dark basement lab, working with researchers at the University College in London and BBN in Boston. We all knew we were working on something important. Little did we know, however, that the software we were developing would become the cornerstone of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Later that day, after a birthday lunch, I attended a computer communications seminar taught by Bob Metcalfe, a researcher at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), one of the country’s premier research labs. Bob’s networking scheme, called Ethernet, is now used in computer networks throughout the world.

To most people, getting up before dawn to test trans-Atlantic data transmission and then attending a computer science seminar may sound like a boring way to spend one’s 21st birthday. But to me, being involved in the creation of something so new and significant was exciting and fun. The professors and researchers that I encountered at UCLA and Stanford inspired me to pursue a career of innovation. After graduating from Stanford in 1976, I spent 25 years as one of the leaders in the creation and growth of the computer networking industry. In 1998, when I became CTO at Cisco, the benefits of the Internet were finally available to a broad base of consumers.

My life and career benefited from an environment of thriving innovation. I was fortunate to be born at a time when the nation understood the importance of science, technology and innovation, and encouraged taking risks. I’m convinced that my son’s generation will not have the same opportunities that I enjoyed, as the country has become increasingly focused on short-term gains. This book was born from my need to try and do something about this shift.

Judy Estrin’s bio

Judy Estrin is CEO of JLABS, LLC, formerly known as Packet Design Management Company, LLC. She is the author of Closing the Innovation Gap, published in September, 2008. Prior to co-founding Packet Design, in May 2000, Estrin was chief technology officer for Cisco Systems. Beginning in 1981 Estrin co-founded three other successful technology companies: Bridge Communications, Network Computing Devices, and Precept Software. In 1998 Cisco Systems acquired Precept, and she became Cisco’s chief technology officer until April 2000.

Estrin has been named three times to Fortune Magazine’s list of the 50 most powerful women in American business. She sits on the boards of directors of The Walt Disney Company and FedEx Corporation as well as the privately held Packet Design, Inc. She also sits on the advisory councils of Stanford’s School of Engineering and Stanford’s Bio-X initiative. She holds a B.S. degree in math and computer science from UCLA, and an M.S. in electrical engineering from Stanford University.

About the Book

Closing the Innovation Gap draws on my experiences as well as on interviews with more than 100 scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, researchers, educators, and academic and business leaders who have been contributors to America’s innovative excellence. The first two chapters present a framework for understanding the process of sustainable innovation, including the concept of an Innovation Ecosystem, and the five core values that give individuals, businesses, organizations, and nations the capacity for change. In Chapters 3 through 5, I review the evolution of science and technology in the decades since World War II, identifying what worked well and what went wrong. I conclude with a perspective on key issues that will need to be addressed in order to reignite broad innovation. Chapter 6 illustrates the application of the innovation framework at an organizational level. Chapters 7 and 8 focus on the national Innovation Ecosystem and what can be done to ensure its enduring health.

Book Details

Available: September 7, 2008
Format: Hardback, 300 pages
ISBN: 0071499873
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Illustrations by Susan Kare

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