John Doty, PhD
"Breaking down the Barriers to the Best Technology"

The Apollo spacecraft was, in its day, a marvel of efficiency, miniaturization, and reliability. It was the very best technology available, far in advance of common industrial and consumer technology. However, in the four decades that have elapsed since that development, other areas of technology have made enormous strides, improving by many orders of magnitude. In contrast, we have not advanced space technology nearly so much. As a result, we are no longer the leaders we imagine we should be, and in many cases we are no longer using the best technology available. We have high ambitions for future space endeavors, and these will require that we adopt the best technology. That requires innovation. But often, the technological innovation has already happened: you can have have the fruits delivered overnight by FedEx. So, I'll talk about the innovation needed to break down the cultural, institutional, and managerial barriers that are keeping our best technologies out of space.

Funding provided in part by Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration: WIRED Initiative