A Birthplace of Innovation

An Interview with Dr. Jared L. Cohon, President, Carnegie Mellon University

EDITOR’S NOTE Jared Cohon became How critical is research work to technologies over the past fi ve years. Additionally, President of Carnegie Mellon University the culture of Carnegie Mellon and Google, Apple, Disney, Intel, and Caterpillar have in 1997. He serves as Vice Chairman how broad is the focus of this work? opened offi ces on campus or nearby to engage of the Cultural Trust, Co- Carnegie Mellon’s research makes a our students and faculty in innovative research. Chair of The Technology Collaborative, difference in people’s lives. For example, CMU ranks fi rst among all U.S. universities with- and Founding Co-Chairman of the we have robotics projects that will aid out a medical school in the number of start-up Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse. an aging population and we are working companies created per research dollar spent since He has extensive government service on a “doctor in a box” analysis tool that 2007, according to the Association of University experience, including his membership will allow each of us to have informa- Technology Managers. on the U.S. Homeland Security Advisory tion about our personal genomes. We Carnegie Mellon places an emphasis on Council and past chairmanship of lead in the area of computer security, involvement in the community. Why it is so the Nuclear Waste Technical Review which is directly relevant to our national important for the university to be engaged in Board. Before joining Carnegie Mellon, Dr. Jared L. Cohon defense and our private lives as many of the community? Dr. Cohon served as Dean of the School us do more online. The university’s Open Community engagement has been part of our of Forestry & Environmental Studies at Yale. He be- Learning Initiative (OLI) caught the attention of the strategic planning for decades. We believe in being gan his teaching and research career in 1973 at Obama Administration, which suggested that OLI present in the community, donating time and effort . Dr. Cohon earned a bach- serve as a model for online education courseware in our local schools, to our area nonprofi ts, and elor’s degree in civil engineering from the University for community colleges. also participating with our economic development of in 1969 and a doctoral degree in Carnegie Mellon is focusing on energy and partners in improving the vitality of our region. For civil engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of the environment, brain science and learning, and its efforts, Carnegie Mellon has been recognized Technology in 1973. using the power of computation in biology, fi - on the President’s Higher Education Community nance, and computer science. Many fi elds of sci- Service Honor Roll since 2007. We’ve also taken INSTITUTION BRIEF Ranked 21st in the world by the ence and the arts at the university are experiencing a lead in green building design and other green Times Higher Education World University Rankings, a revolution that will change our understanding of initiatives, which align with Pittsburgh’s growing Carnegie Mellon University (www. cmu.edu) is a what is possible. reputation as a renewable energy and environmen- global research university with more than 11,000 The university recently launched “Inspire tal leader. Carnegie Mellon is home to nearly one- students, 83,900 living alumni, and more than Innovation”. Would you provide an overview of quarter of the green buildings in the region. 4,900 faculty and staff. The university is recognized that program and the innovation culture at CMU? What have you done to globalize the for its world-class arts and technology programs, col- Innovations is part of our DNA and education Carnegie Mellon student body? laboration across disciplines, and innovative lead- is its delivery system. Our fundraising campaign, It is important to have a student body that ership in education. The university is in the midst of Inspire Innovation, refl ects our way of thinking represents our international thinking – and we do, “Inspire Innovation,” a comprehensive campaign to about the future. We also owe our legacy to key with nearly 30 percent of CMU’s students com- build on its unparalleled success. Carnegie Mellon innovative thinkers who understood the multiplier ing from 100 countries outside the U.S. Carnegie consists of seven schools and colleges: Carnegie value of education, including , Mellon has locations in Pittsburgh, Silicon Valley, Institute of Technology, the College of Fine Arts, the and the Mellon family, and most Qatar, and Australia, and will be in Rwanda start- Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences, recently, William S. Dietrich, whose $265-million ing in August. During the past decade, Carnegie the H. John Heinz III College, the Mellon College of bequest is designed to grow much larger through Mellon has partnered with several other countries, Science, the School of Computer Science, and the investment returns. He made this landmark gift to including Portugal, India, China, and Japan to es- Tepper School of Business. Carnegie Mellon has cam- the university because of its global approach and tablish high-caliber research and education pro- puses in the Silicon Valley and in Qatar. the quality of its faculty and students, who bring grams at the graduate level. interdisciplinary thinking and complex problem- As they venture into an international job mar- What are the particular academic strengths of solving strategies to real-world problems. ket, Carnegie Mellon-trained students are going to Carnegie Mellon? You also recently launched Greenlighting have to bring to their positions a well-educated, Carnegie Mellon University has been a birth- Startups. How much of an entrepreneurial fo- disciplined mind, an open imagination, and the place of innovation throughout its 111-year history. cus is there at CMU? drive to create new value on an international scale. Today, we are a global leader in bringing ground- Carnegie Mellon University introduced the Carnegie Mellon students are making new educa- breaking ideas to market and creating successful Greenlighting Startups initiative to accelerate our tional choices that refl ect their awareness that the start-up businesses. Our award-winning faculty already impressive record of turning campus in- playing fi eld is global. For example, almost 48 per- members are renowned for working closely with novations into sustainable new businesses. In the cent of undergraduates study a foreign language students to solve major scientifi c, technological, past 15 years, CMU has helped to create more than here compared to a national average of 12 percent and societal challenges. We put a strong emphasis 300 new companies, adding approximately 9,000 at comparable American universities. We can barely on creating things – from art to robots. And our new jobs to the U.S. economy. In Pennsylvania keep up with the demand for classes in Chinese.• students are recruited by some of the world’s most alone, CMU spin-offs represent 34 percent of the innovative companies. total companies created based on university The Carnegie Mellon University campus in Pittsburgh

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