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BY MARK SHWARTZ Breaking down global free trade barriers and continuing to invest in technological research will be the cornerstones of an economic turnaround in Silicon Valley, U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans told high-tech industry leaders during a town hall meeting at Stanford on Tuesday, Aug. 27. Speaking to an audience of about 200 at the Gates Computer Sciences Building, Evans assured the audience that President George W. Bush will continue his long-standing support of the information technology (IT) industry by encouraging free enterprise, improving broadband technology and keeping the Internet tax-free. "The high-tech community has a friend in the president," Evans said. "One thing he is: He's an entrepreneur at heart." The secretary was one of three panelists to appear at a special Stanford Technology Town Hall meeting to discuss the state of the IT economy. The others were James Morgan, chairman and CEO of Applied Materials, Inc., and Eric Benhamou, chairman and CEO of Palm, Inc. The event was moderated by university President John Hennessy, who fielded audience questions on topics ranging from the White House position on biotechnology to free trade with Cuba. "Nowhere in the world is the role of technology in the economy and in our lives as apparent as it is in the Bay Area," Hennessy said in his introductory remarks. Stanford's role in the development of Silicon Valley is well known, he added. "What is not too well known is that the roots of this symbiotic relationship lie in the vision of the university's founders" to create and apply knowledge for the betterment of society. Moral responsibility In his opening statement, Evans told audience members that, as stewards of capitalism, they have a "moral responsibility" to think of themselves as public servants. "You're the ones that are creating the conditions for people to pursue the American dream," he said. Evans credited the IT industry for making economic globalization a reality through the creation of the Internet and advances in telecommunications. "High-tech companies in the last decade created twice as many jobs as non-tech companies," he observed. "From the period 1996 to 2000, the high-tech industry accounted for roughly 28 percent of the overall economic growth in this country." While acknowledging the current downturn in the IT sector, the secretary expressed optimism that "this industry and this economy would come back." To assure a speedy recovery, Evans said Bush would urge Congress to make permanent the 2001 tax cut bill and to guarantee that the Internet remains tax-free. He reiterated White House support for developing new broadband technology as "one of our highest priorities -- a key priority for this administration, for this economy. We need to eliminate hurdles that are getting in the way of broadband." Evans also called for increased federal support for education and research. "Science and technology is an area we need to continue to focus on," he said. "The president's 2003 budget calls for $112 billion in research and development. That's the highest in our nation's history." Dot-bomb During the question and answer period, Hennessy -- a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur -- noted that some of his colleagues in the IT industry would disagree with Evans' optimistic view of where the economy is headed. "I must say that, in the aftermath of dot-com turning into dot-bomb, some of my close friends have doubted that technology will have the important role that it's had in the past," Hennessy said. Benhamou, a pioneer in network engineering, noted that it was the total collapse of the telecommunications industry that was largely to blame for the collapse of the dot-com industry. Recovery, he said, will hinge on major improvements in broadband service. "Broadband is the issue for everybody," Hennessy emphasized. "Anybody who's sat on the other side of the line and tried to download a digital photograph, or at a video screen and watched it take forever, realizes how important that technology is." Morgan agreed. "We badly need to get a large expansion of this bandwidth capability, which is why I'm so pleased" with the White House expression of support, he said. "I think we're just in the beginning of the information age," he added, noting that only 2 to 3 percent of the world's homes are equipped with personal computers. One member of the audience raised concerns about "punitive" patenting fees that stifle new technology. Evans acknowledged that the patent system needs reforming and drew applause when he offered to meet with the questioner following the town hall meeting. "I'm here to listen," he said. "There is a continuum from advanced research, to great innovations that would result, to the stimulation of entrepreneurial ideas, to the creation of whole new fields and industries," Benhamou concluded, noting the importance of investing in basic research at Stanford and other universities even during slow economic times. Before the town hall forum, Evans, Hennessy, Benhamou and
Morgan were given a demonstration of cutting-edge Internet
technology by researchers from the Department of Computer Science,
the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and the School of Medicine.
Donning 3-D glasses, the panelists observed a mock long-distance
surgery conducted via the Internet. They also listened and watched
jazz musicians at Stanford and in Canada simultaneously perform in
real-time through a high-speed broadband connection. |
President John Hennessy moderated a panel on technology and the economy on Tuesday, Aug. 27, in the Gates Computer Sciences Building. The panelists, from left, included Eric Benhamou, chairman and CEO of Palm, Inc.; Don Evans, U.S. commerce secretary; and James Morgan, chairman and CEO of Applied Materials. Photo: Rod Searcey
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Stanford Report, September 11, 2002
