The Knowledge Seekers: How to Turn Your Community into an Engine for Economic Success

The author argues that a new type of institution, a "Center for the Performing Sciences," is necessary to efficiently close the gap between research and the application of innovation. Such a center would operate as a public-private partnership, bridging government, industry, and academia. It would be free of some of the competing priorities of academic institutions, serve as a venue for R&D cooperation or "coopetition" among private companies, and ultimately be self-sustaining from a share of the intellectual property it produced. The author's points are illustrated with examples from the Houston Area Research Center (HARC), where he served as President and CEO, and subsequent work at the University of Oklahoma. This 2001 edition is a substantial revision and expansion of the 1998 book of the same title.