Monday, April 26, 2010

The University of North Carolina Wilmington Center for Marine Science is bringing together research scientists, university administrators, government leaders, members of innovation centers and business people from around the state for a collaborative workshop on permanent innovation from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 28 at the Center for Marine Science. The workshop will be facilitated by Langdon Morris, a recognized expert and author of the book, "Permanent Innovation."

The workshop is NOT open to the general public, but media are welcome to attend and cover the event. About 135 participants are expected from across North Carolina.

The workshop's purpose is to introduce the principles of permanent innovation to the center's community of associated universities, government agencies and businesses, and to enable this community to improve its performance as a leading source of innovation and economic development for North Carolina. Accelerated innovation will be critical to support a general shift away in the state's economy away from tobacco and manufacturing, and toward knowledge-related activities.

"Clearly, given the current state of the economy, innovation and entrepreneurship are going to be essential for survival," said Dan Baden, director of the Center for Marine Science. "I'd like to see the elements of Morris's "Permanent Innovation" concepts incorporated into the way we attack problems, evaluate results, interpret and select next steps, and learn to identify missing elements or expertise needed to reach present and future goals. It's really a framework to encourage discussion and creativity."

Baden noted that MARBIONC, a program that focuses on the application of marine biotechnology for health, food and energy, has been using the principles of permanent innovation since Morris's book was published in 2006. Affiliated with CMS, MARBIONC's research areas include drug discovery, detection technologies for human-origin marine pollutants and biotoxins from microorganisms, and algae farming for biofuels and mariculture.

Participants in Wednesday's innovation workshop include other marine science programs from around the state including UNC Chapel Hill, N.C. State and Duke University, the Coastal Studies Institute in Manteo, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center and a representative of the Governor's office.

A detailed workshop agenda is available upon request.

Media contact:
Dana Fischetti, media relations manager, 910.962.7259 or fischettid@uncw.edu