Gordon Cain

A keynote presentation on the changing nature and importance of transfer diffusion activities will take place on Friday, 27 March. On Saturday, 28 March, an all-day discussion of the process of diffusion as it takes place on three different institutional scales will be examined.

The Friday session of the Gordon Cain Conference is designed for a general audience interested in the topic, and the Saturday sessions are meant for people interested in contributing to the academic discussions.

There is no fee to attend the conference, but registration is required. You can register to attend just the Friday session, just the Saturday sessions, or the entire conference.


Background
The term “technology transfer” first assumed importance among experts concerned with economic development in the decade immediately after World War II, as attention in the Western world focused on the rebuilding of Europe and then on efforts to encourage economic growth and modernization in the developing world.

But in recent decades a desire to improve the movement of technological knowledge and information across institutional boundaries has become common, almost ubiquitous, whether the institutions are government agencies, corporations, university research facilities, or nongovernmental organizations concerned with development.

Indeed, the activity of technology transfer occurs under several terms (diffusion, knowledge or technology flows, knowledge management) as scholars from many areas of study attack the issues involved.

But attention to the subject is not simply a matter of scholarly interest; for many businesses, governments, universities, and nongovernmental organizations, ensuring the easy movement of knowledge, information, and technology is a high priority.

Prospectus
The 2009 Gordon Cain Conference at the Chemical Heritage Foundation will explore this widened focus for technology transfer through a series of talks and discussions.

In each instance, an academic speaker who has studied the topic will describe the nature of the process and explore the basic patterns involved at that level. Then a practitioner in the process of transfer and diffusion will present a comment concerning the field before the audience joins the conversation.

A goal of the meeting is to take initial steps toward an overarching framework that describes the movement of technical knowledge and practices across and through agencies and boundaries. Currently different strands of scholarly activities explore the field, with little interaction between them; this conference will bring together scholars from different disciplines with practitioners engaged in the actual process. 

Full conference schedule

For further information concerning conference content, please contact:

Hyungsub Choi
Manager for Electronics, Innovation, and Emerging Technology Programs
Center for Contemporary History and Policy
Chemical Heritage Foundation
215-873-8231
hchoi@chemheritage.org

Bruce Seely
Gordon Cain Conference Fellow
Dean, College of Sciences and Arts
Michigan Technological University
Houghton, MI  49931-1295
906-487-2156
bseely@mtu.edu

For logistical information, please contact:

Nancy Vonada, Manager of Events and Stewardship
Chemical Heritage Foundation
Phone: 215-873-8226
Fax: 215-629-5226
nvonada@chemheritage.org
 

Directions to CHF