Innovation Ahead by IRI

Join us for a conversation with Duane Morris partners Brian Pandya and Dan Tarr on how the rise of AI is reshaping patent strategy. We’ll cover what the USPTO is saying today, when (and whether) AI use should be disclosed, how AI impacts inventorship and obviousness, and the practical risks—from inadvertent public disclosures that can jeopardize patent rights to trade-secret leakage when using pub...

In the first episode of The Edge of What’s Next, IRI explores the trends reshaping the future of innovation and R&D, including the K-shaped economy, private equity investment, physical AI, demographic shifts, workforce dynamics, and the growing need for human connection in an increasingly digital environment. This conversation highlights how manufacturers and innovation leaders can respond to...

The Holland Award Address will be delivered by the recipients of the 2025 Maurice Holland Award, presented annually by IRI to honor the most outstanding paper published in the prior year’s volume of Research-Technology Management (RTM). Named for IRI’s founder, Maurice Holland, the award recognizes exceptional thought leadership that advances the practice of innovation and industrial research. Dur...

Work with your fellow innovators to identify the key issues that will shape innovation in the near future in this interactive session. Share challenges, solutions, and learn what issues are keeping your peers up at night and what they are doing to address them now.

Learn about Evonik, ENEOS Americas, and NSF’s approach to partnering and venturing – and how co-innovation can accelerate your growth through relationships with traditional and non-traditional partners. You’ll walk away with insights into practical approaches for co-innovation that will drive strategic value, scale new ideas and strengthen the innovation pipeline.

This session explores EMD’s new cross‑business initiative centered on Microphysiological Systems (MPS), cutting‑edge in vitro platforms that model human organ function to accelerate drug development and reduce animal testing. Sakshi will discuss how the initiative came to life, the strategies used to align multiple business units, and the practical lessons learned from driving collaboration at sca...

Hear how NVIDIA and Lubrizol are using AI to deliver tangible business results—from improving productivity and decision-making to unlocking new revenue and operating models. Learn what it takes to move from pilots to scalable deployments, align AI investments with strategic priorities, and measure impact that matters.

Explore how organizations balance innovation within their core businesses while simultaneously pursuing opportunities beyond them. Hear perspectives on aligning strategy, capabilities, and culture to drive growth both inside and outside the core.

Balancing structure and creativity in new product development (NPD) is a persistent challenge. A well-defined NPD process is essential for managing portfolios and accelerating project velocity, yet too much rigidity can stifle innovation. Learn about Milliken’s journey to strike that balance—resulting in a harmonized NPD framework that maintains core process elements across the organization while...

Explore the global forces reshaping industry, technology, and innovation, and what they mean for organizations navigating rapid change. Gain perspective on how you can anticipate disruption, build resilience, and position your enterprise for long-term impact.

Join Saket Navlakha, Associate Professor at the Simons Center for Quantitative Biology at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, for a fascinating discussion on how artificial intelligence is reshaping scientific research and innovation. From his pioneering work on “algorithms in nature” to co-founding Knose. AI—a start-up digitizing smell—Navlakha shares how AI has accelerated discovery, transformed the...

Discover how Hollister is innovating through strategic partnerships with universities, and learn about the organizational structure and vision that drive these collaborations. Hear firsthand about the motivations behind these initiatives, how Adrian Defante and his team align projects with Hollister’s goals, and what it takes to be a successful partner. Explore real wins and learn how ROI is appro...

Panel discussion with Portia Yarborough, Chief Science and Sustainability Officer, Michelman, Nici Bush, Chief Innovation, Science, and Technology Officer, Mars, and Robert Fast, CEO, Fast Technology Advisors Moderator: Lee Green, Executive Director, IRI Leading IRI members look back on the day and highlight some of the key takeaways from the sessions and discussions, across key themes: – Impact o...

Facilitator: Jared Forman, Principal, Forvis Mazars, Rahim Rahim, Director, Forvis Mazars, and Hasan Agha, Managing Director and Chief Architect, ASME (The American Society of Mechanical Engineers) Discuss the steps you have taken to cultivate new value chain partners — and those you believe you’ll need to take in the future — as well as how to develop the capabilities and technologies that your o...

Panel discussion with Steven Montgomery, R&D Vice President, Bioindustrials, Cargill and Zara Summers, Chief Strategy Officer, LanzaTech Moderator: Sean Ammirati, CEO and Co-Founder, Growth Signals Many industries are going through transitions that mean the customers, partners, and suppliers of tomorrow may not be the same as those of today: Auto OEMs are working with electric utilities, polym...

Facilitator: Lou Gritzo, Chief Science Officer, FM We are navigating a complex landscape where growth, sustainability, and supply chain resilience must coexist. This session invites you to share how you’re adapting your strategies and guiding your teams through uncertainty, regulatory shifts, and stakeholder demands. Together, we’ll explore emerging gaps and practical tools to strengthen decision-...

Panel discussion with Jose Miguel Bejarano, Innovation Development Lead, Siemens Energy, and Judodine Nichols, Chief Technology Officer, Principal Mineral Moderator: Amy Thorn, CEO, Supply Chain Leaders in Action Innovation teams have been challenged to not only deliver on growth drivers, but also to support sustainability efforts. On top of this, global trade disruptions have given them another u...

Facilitator: Seif Hagag, Enterprise Account Manager, Uncountable  Discuss your team-building strategies and brainstorm on how to develop the skills, attributes, and experiences that your teams will need to flourish in the future.

Fireside chat with Jeff Goldman, Vice President, Enterprise Data Science, Procter & Gamble and Katie Trauth Taylor, CEO and Co-Founder, Narratize AI and other disruptive trends are challenging leaders to re-think the way they staff, build, and train their teams. Still, the robots aren’t ready to replace us all just yet, which means for the foreseeable future our teams will be made up of humans...

Facilitator: Mike Holman, Senior Content Director, IRI This working session will help attendees to explore learnings from Andrea Kates’ keynote and begin to think through how to apply them in their organization. In light of the insights and 5-step model from the keynote, where do you see the biggest challenges for your organization right now — and where do you believe you need to go next?

Opening Keynote with Andrea Kates, Corporate Growth Strategist & Former Tech CEO In an era of unprecedented uncertainty, the greatest risk isn’t failing to innovate—it’s failing to scale innovation. Too many high-potential ventures die on the vine. We’re overwhelmed by the opportunities to innovate, and challenged by the pressure to get ahead of risks we can’t control. We need to be resilient....

In this episode, host Lee Green talks with Sean Amirati of Growth Signals about three trends R&D leaders should prepare for in 2026: proof-of-work artifacts that both humans and agents can use, the AI collaboration stack, and agentic workflows (including co-scientist systems). They discuss moving beyond pilots to deliver real value, strategies for workforce adoption and culture change, and pra...

This IRI podcast episode features Colin Scott of Innventure discussing how R&D leaders can reduce risk, be highly selective, and decide when to stop projects before committing major resources. Colin explains the needs‑led approach, critical factor assessment, and prioritization techniques, and shares the PureCycle case as an example of successful external commercialization. He closes with a mi...

In this episode Lee Green interviews Lori Austino, DuPont’s global technology leader, about how the company defines and manages substances of concern. Lori explains the shift from acute to chronic toxicants, the development of internal standards and substance lists, and the principles that guide existing products versus new innovations. She reviews practical tools, alternatives assessment methods,...

In this discussion, we explore the fast-changing role of modeling and machine learning in formulation design, shifting from a supportive tool to a driving force of innovation. Once a “nice to have,” computational modeling is now reducing reliance on costly, time-intensive experiments and accelerating product development across industries, from consumer goods to aerospace and semiconductors. We’ll...