Charles Wessner

Charles Wessner is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, where he teaches global innovation policy while also serving as a senior adviser (non-resident) to the CSIS Renewing American Innovation Program. He is active as a speaker, researcher, and writer with a global lens on innovation policy and has frequently advised technology agencies, universities, and governments on effective innovation policies. He served for two decades as a National Academies scholar, where he founded and directed the National Academy of Sciences' Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Program. At the National Academies, Dr. Wessner’s research addressed the importance of semiconductor research and production to innovation and national security. In collaboration with Gordon Moore and Bill Spencer, his influential reports included Securing the Future: Regional and National Programs to Support the Semiconductor Industry and Innovative Flanders: Innovation Policies for the 21st Century, which reviewed the role of IMEC, the cooperative research center. His most recent publication with Thomas Howell, Regional Renaissance: How New York’s Capital Region Became a Nanotechnology Powerhouse (Springer, 2020), documents how state investments in universities, new institutions, and infrastructure created a vibrant semiconductor cluster creating thousands of jobs and regional growth. He is also a leading U.S. expert on Sematech, the U.S. semiconductor consortium, and the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, which provides awards to promising small businesses and start-ups. Reflecting his commitment to transatlantic cooperation, he was awarded the Order of Merit by the president of France.
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Renewing the U.S. Innovation System
Implementing the CHIPS Act: Sematech’s Lessons for the National Semiconductor Technology Center
Report by Charles Wessner and Thomas Howell — May 19, 2023
Collaboration Is Essential for the West to Catch up on Technology and Ensure the Future of Democracy
Blog Post by Mike Russo and Charles Wessner — May 12, 2023
Enhancing the Regional Impact of the CHIPS and Science Act
Event by Sujai Shivakumar , John J. Hamre , Tom Guevara , Charles Wessner , and Phillip Singerman — May 3, 2023
Getting Real on the Inflation Reduction Act
Commentary by Charles Wessner and Srishti Khemka — March 7, 2023
For Stronger Tech, Europe Must Spend More on Defense and Research
Commentary by Charles Wessner — March 3, 2023
The Strategic Importance of Legacy Chips
Report by Sujai Shivakumar , Charles Wessner , and Thomas Howell — March 3, 2023
CHIPS, Childcare, and National Security
Blog Post by Sujai Shivakumar and Charles Wessner — March 1, 2023
Book Event: Chris Miller's "Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology"
Event by Sujai Shivakumar , Charles Wessner , and Chris Miller — January 11, 2023
Toward a New Multilateral Export Control Regime
Commentary by Sujai Shivakumar , Charles Wessner , and Hideki Tomoshige — January 10, 2023