TROY, Mich.—Michigan boomed because of innovators like Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, S.S. Kresge and W.K. Kellogg. How can Michigan reinvigorate that innovative spirit? Who are today’s Edisons? And what exactly is innovation, anyway?

Michigan’s University Research Corridor and WWJ Newsradio 950 will gather leading innovators at the Michigan State University Management Center, 811 W. Square Lake Road, in Troy on April 29.

URC Executive Director Jeff Mason opens the morning seminar, Destination:Innovation, with WWJ’s technology editor Matt Roush moderating the panel discussions. Registration and continental breakfast is 7:30 a.m. followed by the program from 8:30 a.m.-noon.

Innovation experts include: Jeff DeGraff, a University of Michigan business professor and consultant who authored the book “Leading Innovation;” Judy Johncox, associate vice president from technology commercialization at Wayne State University; Rich Sheridan, CEO of Menlo Innovations; and Soji Adelaja, director of the MSU Land Policy Institute.

Area business speakers who are succeeding through innovation include: Jason Bornhorst, a recent U-M graduate and “serial entrepreneur” whose companies developed some of the hottest iPhone apps on the market; Dean Massab, CEO of Roush Life Sciences; Charles Hasemann, director of MSU’s Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, which is working to become a hub for biomedical research statewide; and Rangaramanujam M. Kannan, a WSU chemical engineering professor and chief technical officer of NanoScience Engineering Corp.

The URC, an alliance of MSU, U-M and Wayne State, have each made innovation a top priority. The URC was founded in 2006 to leverage the power of Michigan’s research universities to transform, strengthen and diversify the state’s economy. A recent study found that the three universities have a combined impact on the state’s economy of $14.5 billion.

WWJ Newsradio 950 is owned and operated by CBS RADIO, one of the largest major-market radio operators in the United States is a division of CBS Corp. CBS RADIO operates 130 radio stations, the majority of which are in the nation’s top 50 markets. In Detroit, CBS RADIO also owns and operates WOMC-FM, WYCD-FM, WVMV-FM and WXYT AM/FM. Advance registration is required with a charge of $10 to the general public or free to students or staff with a university ID.

Contact: Joe Serwach
Phone: (734) 647-1844

Contact: Russ White
Phone: (517) 432-0923

Contact: Francine Wunder
Phone: ( 313) 577-5699

To register: http://www.ticketweb.com/snl/EventListings.action?orgId=19900

For more on the URC, visit: www.urcmich.org

For more on WWJ, visit: www.wwj.com

Registration

URC

WWJ