Engineering means business at EDAY '05

By David Orenstein

Technology drives change at a fast pace in business and policy, but engineers and executives can get the information and inspiration to stay ahead at Engineering Day (EDAY) on Saturday, May 21, in the William R. Hewlett Teaching Center at the Science and Engineering Quad, from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

"To be successful, leaders in a wide variety of organizations, especially those that use or produce new technologies, must be poised at the interface between engineering, management and public policy, even in fields that evolve at a rapid pace," says M. Elisabeth Paté-Cornell, chair of the Department of Management Science and Engineering (MS&E). "This year's EDAY is a timely opportunity to hear about some of the latest research results from a young and diverse group of faculty members from MS&E."

Adds Jim Plummer, the Frederick Emmons Terman Dean of the School of Engineering: "We are marshaling the expertise of the Stanford engineering community to help people better understand the impact of technology in business and public life."

This year's EDAY, "Today's Issues, Tomorrow's Solutions," brings together more than 20 sharp-minded experts on managing technology and the changes it brings. In panels and presentations during the half-day event, top technology industry executives and faculty from the School of Engineering's MS&E department will address some of the hottest topics in management today. These include trends in outsourcing technical work, issues in supply chain management and managing new technologies.

While informative and even provocative in its substance, EDAY has a festive context: celebration of MS&E's fifth anniversary. Since its inception in 2000, under Paté-Cornell, the Burt and Deedee McMurtry Professor in the School of Engineering, the department has become a catalyst for applying engineering analysis to business and policy affairs.

Presentations and panels

In the keynote speech, Microsoft Group Vice President Jeff Raikes will discuss how rapid technology advances and relatively low barriers to entering the market challenge even the most established software companies to compete and adapt. Raikes, who holds a bachelor's degree in engineering and economic systems from Stanford, now oversees Microsoft's Information Worker business, which includes the popular Microsoft Office software suite.

In showcase presentations, five award-winning MS&E faculty members will introduce the subjects of breakout panel sessions. Listening to the presentations, attendees can decide which panel discussion to join to explore that subject in more depth. Faculty members will team up with top industry executives at each panel:

The Changing Nature of Technical Employment. Led by Stephen Barley, the Charles M. Pigott Professor in the School of Engineering and co-director of the Center for Work, Technology and Organization, and Karen Richardson, CEO and director of Epiphany, a marketing software company, this panel will explore the ramifications today for engineers and managers of sweeping changes in the engineering workplace. Layoffs and outsourcing work to contractors locally and overseas are far more common than they used to be. On the panel are Roger Siboni, former deputy chair of accountancy KPMG and a director of several technology companies, and Ameet Patel, chief technology officer at LabMorgan, a division of investment bank JP Morgan.

The Hidden Costs of Offshoring: Adapting Supply Chains. Feryal Ehrun, assistant professor, and Russ Harris, senior vice president of operations at networking company Echelon Corp., will lead the discussion on this panel, which explores the logistical realities behind the headlines of making operations more global. The panel also includes Bryan Stolle, chief executive officer and chairman of product management software maker Agile.

Strategy at the Edge of Chaos. Kathy Eisenhardt, co-director of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP) and the Stanford W. Ascherman, M.D., Professor in the School of Engineering, and Steve Jurvetson, managing director of venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson, will present ideas to shrewdly navigate even the most choppy waters of management. Joining them is panelist Jim Protsenko, chief operating officer of Molecular Nanosystems Inc.

Managing the Newest Technologies. Nick Bambos, professor of management science and engineering and of electrical engineering and director of the Stanford Networking Research Center; Jeff Kleck, chief executive officer of Attainia, which makes software for healthcare capital planning; and Denis Coleman, chairman and president of bioresearch systems supplier Solus Biosystems, will discuss how to most effectively integrate emerging technologies into an organization.

Are Entrepreneurs Born or Made? Tom Byers, professor, STVP co-director and the Buzz and Barbara McCoy University Fellow in Undergraduate Education, and Donna Novitsky, partner at the venture capital firm MDV - Mohr Davidow Ventures, will lead a discussion about educating and shaping tomorrow's entrepreneurs. Adding their perspectives will be panelists Vic Verma, chief executive officer of supply chain technology company Savi, and Gordy Davidson of the law firm Fenwick & West.

Attendance costs $25 for recent Stanford alumni (graduated between 2000 and 2005), $35 for all other Stanford alumni (graduated before 2000) and $40 for non-Stanford alumni. Current School of Engineering faculty, staff and students or members of the media can attend for free but must register in advance. The event includes lunch and networking opportunities for all attendees.

To register, visit http://www.acteva.com/go/eday05.

For more information about EDAY visit http://soe.stanford.edu/alumni/eday05/index.html.

David Orenstein is the communications and public relations manager at the Stanford School of Engineering.