Recently, I was fortunate enough to attend the 2014 American Energy and Manufacturing Competitiveness Summit (AEMC), which is put on by my employer, the Council on Competitiveness, in partnership with the US Department of Energy. This event, located at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, is the second annual national event that is designed to build momentum around American innovation, progress, and competitiveness in the energy and manufacturing fields. The Summit brings together public and private leaders in the industries to inspire them to make concrete steps toward enhancing US prosperity and productivity.
This year's Summit brought together over 500 CEOs, university presidents, national laboratory directors, and other stakeholders in the energy and manufacturing industries. The lineup of speakers and panel participants included the Honorable Ernest Moniz, the Secretary of Energy of the US Department of Energy, Samuel Allen, the chairman and CEO of John Deere Co., along with a myriad of executives from global energy and manufacturing giants like General Electric and Lockheed Martin. Not only was I able to gain great insight into how these companies and people are trying to innovate and change the world, I was able to speak with them as peers in comfortable, informal environments outside of the panel discussions. I had the rare opportunity to chat casually with the likes of US Steel CEO Mario Longhi and University of Cincinnati President Dr. Santa J. Ono (who are both great guys might I add).
I was also able to learn about smaller ventures and lesser known companies that are innovating and are in the process of changing the energy and manufacturing markets as we know them. I attended a presentation by John B. Rogers, the CEO and founder of a small company called Local Motors. In partnership with the US Department of Energy, Cincinnati Inc., and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, they were able manufacture the world's first 3D printed electric car within a single year. This car is entirely made out of ABS plastic and reinforced carbon and can reach a top speed of 50mph. It also has an automatic transmission with a 3.5 hour charge time for a 6.1 kwh battery, that enables the drive range to extend to about 62 miles.
This is an amazing example of what the American spirit of innovation can inspire. If it were not for WAIP, I would not have had such a great opportunity.
- Nick Lascu
This year's Summit brought together over 500 CEOs, university presidents, national laboratory directors, and other stakeholders in the energy and manufacturing industries. The lineup of speakers and panel participants included the Honorable Ernest Moniz, the Secretary of Energy of the US Department of Energy, Samuel Allen, the chairman and CEO of John Deere Co., along with a myriad of executives from global energy and manufacturing giants like General Electric and Lockheed Martin. Not only was I able to gain great insight into how these companies and people are trying to innovate and change the world, I was able to speak with them as peers in comfortable, informal environments outside of the panel discussions. I had the rare opportunity to chat casually with the likes of US Steel CEO Mario Longhi and University of Cincinnati President Dr. Santa J. Ono (who are both great guys might I add).
I was also able to learn about smaller ventures and lesser known companies that are innovating and are in the process of changing the energy and manufacturing markets as we know them. I attended a presentation by John B. Rogers, the CEO and founder of a small company called Local Motors. In partnership with the US Department of Energy, Cincinnati Inc., and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, they were able manufacture the world's first 3D printed electric car within a single year. This car is entirely made out of ABS plastic and reinforced carbon and can reach a top speed of 50mph. It also has an automatic transmission with a 3.5 hour charge time for a 6.1 kwh battery, that enables the drive range to extend to about 62 miles.
This is an amazing example of what the American spirit of innovation can inspire. If it were not for WAIP, I would not have had such a great opportunity.
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