Author and Innovation Expert Andrew Hargadon to Deliver NIWeek 2008 Keynote

University of California, Davis, Professor to Discuss How Engineers Can Use Innovation to Meet Energy Challenges


NEWS RELEASE – June 2008 – National Instruments today announced that Andrew Hargadon, the director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and the Energy Efficiency Center at the University of California, Davis, will deliver the closing keynote address at NIWeek 2008, the premier event for graphical system design scheduled for Aug. 5-7 in Austin, Texas. Hargadon, author of the book “How Breakthroughs Happen: The Surprising Truth About How Companies Innovate,” will share his insights on innovation and how it can meet the Earth’s energy challenges with the more than 3,000 engineers, scientists and educators in attendance.

“We are excited to welcome Andrew Hargadon to NIWeek as this year’s guest keynote speaker,” said John Hanks, National Instruments vice president of product marketing for data acquisition and industrial control. “Andrew’s perspective on how companies innovate by uniting the right people and technologies is especially relevant to NIWeek attendees who are exploring green engineering as the solution for more efficient and cost-effective applications.”

Hargadon has spent more than a decade researching innovation management and the role of design in managing technology transitions, including how they are applied to the development and commercialization of sustainable technologies. His work has been used by organizations such as Hewlett-Packard, Canadian Health Services, the U.S. Navy and several startups. Hargadon also is an associate professor of corporate executive programs on technology management at the Graduate School of Management at UC Davis and serves on the advisory boards of several startup companies.

Prior to founding the UC Davis Center for Entrepreneurship, Hargadon taught in the Product Design Program at Stanford University and worked as a product design engineer and project leader for Apple Inc. At Apple, he served on the design team for the Macintosh and PowerBook products. Hargadon received his doctorate from the Department of Management Science and Engineering in the Stanford University School of Engineering, where he was named Boeing Fellow and Sloan Foundation Future Professor of Manufacturing. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Stanford University’s Product Design Program in the Mechanical Engineering Department.