CSIS Launches Renewing American Innovation Project

WASHINGTON, February 23, 2021: The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is pleased to announce the launch of the Renewing American Innovation Project. This initiative will explore the architecture of renewal both proposed and underway to advance the United States’ postwar status as the world’s foremost center of innovation and advancement in science and technology. The new project recognizes the growing challenges the United States faces from robust competition in this space—from China and elsewhere—and it explores how the United States can seize upon its distinctively pioneering spirit to maintain its dominance in technology-based innovation and lead the world in the twenty-first century. 

As a core part of this new initiative, CSIS welcomes as non-resident senior advisers the Honorable Walter Copan, former under secretary of commerce for standards and technology and director of the National Institute for Standards and Technology, and the Honorable Andrei Iancu, former under secretary of commerce for intellectual property and director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In addition, the project will be led by Alexander Kersten, who returns to CSIS from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

“Andrei is an accomplished intellect in the areas of intellectual property law and policy, while Walt is a seasoned veteran of the research, technology transfer, and innovation communities. Together, they offer CSIS indispensable guidance,” said Dr. John J. Hamre, CSIS president and CEO. “They will bolster our scholarship on these challenging, critical issues.”

Prior to joining the Department of Commerce, Dr. Copan was an industry leader and served with two of the Department of Energy national laboratories: the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Brookhaven National Laboratory. Mr. Iancu is a leading intellectual property attorney, served as managing partner at Irell & Manella LLP, and taught patent law at the UCLA School of Law.

“Andrei and Walt offer invaluable insights into the complexities of fostering a robust innovative environment for innovation to flourish in the United States. We will benefit from their experience and wisdom as colleagues here at CSIS,” said Mr. Kersten, director of the Renewing American Innovation Program.

The Renewing American Innovation Project seeks to address how the United States can bolster and prioritize innovation in ways that allow it to compete effectively in a world where state-controlled capitalist systems are quickly gaining ground. During the Cold War, U.S. leadership in science and technology came to be equated with national security and prosperity, which led to unprecedented levels of federal funding into research and development in U.S. universities and research institutions. This in turn resulted in a world immeasurably benefited by advancements like the internet, GPS, and the mapping of the human genome. Through various policy mechanisms, the United States can continue to benefit the world while ensuring economic prosperity and national security at home. The Renewing American Innovation Project’s goal is to identify these approaches through written analysis, public events, and national leadership conversations that aim to bring together the best thinkers on innovation and intellectual property policy in government, academia, and industry for the benefit of the country.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a bipartisan, nonprofit policy research organization dedicated to advancing practical ideas to address the world’s greatest challenges.