Specialists Conferences: A World of Innovation

Feb 22, 2007 10:09 AM
By Alan Elbanhawy, Power Semiconductor Industry Veteran

Almost everyone is capable of innovation. What differentiates great innovations from everyday little tricks are the individual’s background, experience and knowledge in his or her profession, in the field of innovation, and even basic knowledge acquired in everyday life. Here, I would like to concentrate on innovations in the field of engineering and science that have the potential to make a difference in all our lives.

Innovations almost always start with a need or a problem in a given field that prompts the engineers to seek a solution. Each person will have to draw on his or her total knowledge and background to formulate an approach toward solving the problem. It is safe to say that the more extensive one’s knowledge is, the higher the probability of finding a solution, particularly a solution of high quality. By high quality, I mean a solution that is practical, cheap and — most of all — acceptable to the population the particular solution affects.

This rather philosophical introduction leads us to the question, “How do we acquire knowledge?” Home learning and formal schooling are two familiar means. But most importantly, as professionals, we learn by interaction with others in the scientific community, both past and present. How often have you heard great scientists say they are “standing on the shoulders of giants”? In other words, had it not been for those scientists who made the breakthroughs of the past, more recent achievements would have not been possible.

At present, there exist numerous platforms for spreading knowledge in a direct and complete manner across the globe, in a way that was never before possible. More specifically, I’m referring to the technical conferences that take place in all fields of technology. The reason is simply the accessibility of modern and cutting-edge technology and innovations from all over the world presented by the very scientists and engineers who conceived of them. These events also give the engineering community the privilege of questioning the innovators and digging deeper into theirs concept, and even into the thought processes that allowed them to innovate.

Over the years, I have had the privilege of participating in dozens of conferences all over the world, both as a speaker and as an attendee. I have always noticed that a given scientist’s solution to a specific problem prompts engineers in the audience to question the speaker on the applicability of the idea in somewhat different applications or even completely different applications. Really great ideas act as beacons for mind stimulation, inspiring others to close the loop and fix the problems they are attempting to address and solve.

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© 2007 Penton Media, Inc.