For the third time in less than one year TUSIAD has organized its “Discover Corporate America” program (DCA), April 2-6, 2007. DCA is an opportunity for TUSIAD members to spend a week in the United States, meeting their corporate counterparts in the US, and exposing them to a number of topics related to innovation and R&D activities in the US corporate sector, federal and state governments and research institutes. Each DCA program is hosted in different metropolitan areas throughout the United States. DCA3 was held in Washington, DC, Philadelphia, PA, and New York, NY.
DCA3 delegates started their week in Washington, DC. Their first meeting of the morning was with representatives from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, where they were briefed on the work of NSF and NIH, and the funding process and opportunities available to both US citizens and foreign nationals in cooperation with US researchers. Following this meeting the delegation had a roundtable lunch with Ms. Yasemin Congar, Bureau Chief of CNN Turk and Milliyet in Washington, DC. Ms. Congar gave the delegation an overview of the current status of Turkish-American Relations.
That afternoon, the delegates went to the offices of the Information and Technology Innovation Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan public policy think tank,that was formed approximately one year ago. There they met with the Senior Analyst and learned about influencing government regarding technology and innovation policies. The delegates also asked questions regarding US innovation tax credits and the US Patent System reform.
Tuesday morning, the delegates toured Harley Davidson’s Vehicle Operations Facilities in York, PA, where they were able to watch the fascinating process of the assembly of the infamous Harley Davidson motorcycles, and watch them in the test facilities. Harley Davidson is the number one producer of motorcycles in the United States. Later that afternoon, the group traveled to one of the test facilities of Rohm and Haas, a specialty materials company. The group first met with representatives from the test facility who gave an overview of Rohm and Haas and their business research groups. Since Rohm and Haas was the company that invented water-based paints, it was interesting for the group to then take a tour of the paint test grounds. The group toured the site where different compositions of paint are exposed to the elements and analyzed after a period of time.
On Wednesday, April 3, the delegates were in Philadelphia to meet with representatives from the Science Center, a “Total Venture Ecosystem” that was established in 1963. The function of the Science Center is to “find, form, fund and manage early-stage life science and technology companies, accelerate their commercialization and provide the infrastructure and community they need to flourish.” In the overview of the Science Center given by the Chief of Staff, the delegates learned that the Science Center is the oldest, largest and most successful urban incubator in the world. It has successfully launched over 350 companies since its inception.
The next morning began with a visit to Dupont’s Corporate headquarters and laboratories just outside Philadelphia. At Dupont, the delegation was briefed by the Innovation Planning Manager, who gave an overview of Dupont’s activities, recent projects and products, as well as Dupont’s innovation framework. The presentation was followed by a guided tour of the Dupont brother’s home estate and facilities.
After Dupont, the group traveled to the New York metro area to meet with the Corporate Director of Science and Technology at Johnson & Johnson, a global American pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer packaged goods manufacturer. At Johnson & Johnson, the delegates learned about the innovation process, and the incentives for innovation, all of which are based on the company’s credo that has guided the company for more than 60 years.
On the last day of the program, the delegation visited the IBM Research facilities outside New York City. A Research Manager from IBM explained the research process and research management at the facility, as well as the measurements for success. The group was also able to see the world’s third fastest supercomputer, housed at the IBM facilities. The first fastest computer was also created by IBM, but was bought by a research laboratory in California. The final visit of the delegation was the Sony Wonder Technology Lab. The group was led on a private tour of the four floors of hands on interactive exhibits in technology and communication, including an screening in the state-of-the art HDTV theatre.
DCA3 Delegates included: Mr. Erol Goker, Vice-Chairman of Global Yatirim Holding; Mr. Hakan Tanil, General Manager of Ulusoy Automotive; Mr. Kaan Kasapoglu, Founder, Tumka Cable; Mr. Nezih Altinok, General Manager, Ode K-flex Insulation Industry and Trade, Ltd.; Mr. Semseddin Arat, Assistant General Manager,Turkish Industrial Development Bank; Mr. Osman Zeki Yalçýn, UPS Ankara Regional Manager; Mr. Aydemir Þaman, Group Manager, Ýþ Bank, Information Technology Directorate; Ms. Gunes Tavmen, Assistant Researcher TUSIAD Headquarters; Ms. Allison Block, Program Officer, TUSIAD-US.
