Coolidge Corner Theatre Brookline, MA
Dr. John Joannopoulos
Professor of Physics, MIT; Director, Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies
Primer— The Accidental Nature of Innovation
Program Description
A scientific look at the accidental nature of innovation.
Presented At
Coolidge Corner Theatre Brookline, MA
Film Synopsis
Four friends and fledgling entrepreneurs, knowing that there's something bigger and more innovative than the different error-checking devices they've built, wrestle over their new invention.
Two friends (Shane Carruth, David Sullivan) invent a form of time travel, and though they think they are being smart about using it, within just five days, selfishness and shortsightedness lead them to create so many overlapping timelines that they lose control of themselves, their friendship, and the technology.
About the Speaker
Dr. John D. Joannopoulos is the Francis Wright Davis Professor of Physics at MIT. He is the author or co-author of over 540 refereed journal articles, two textbooks on photonic crystals, and over 60 US Patents. He is also co-founder of four startup companies: OmniGuide, Inc., Luminus Devices, Inc., WiTricity Corporation, and Typhoon HIL, Inc. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a Fellow of the World Technology Network, an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow (1976–1980), a John S. Guggenheim Fellow (1981–1982), and has been on the Thompson ISI Most Highly Cited Researchers List since 2003. Dr. Joannopoulos is the recipient of the MIT School of Science Graduate Teaching Award (1991), the William Buechner Teaching Prize of the MIT Department of Physics (1996), and the David Adler Award of the American Physical Society (1997). He is a former Divisional Associate Editor of Physical Review Letters, and former Member of the Editorial Board of Reviews of Modern Physics. Currently he is director of the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies at MIT.