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President of UW System and Foxconn executive envision a “global technology hub” and encourage submissions to Smart Cities Smart Futures competition in new essay published by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
MADISON, Wis. – Citing the “intellectual firepower” of the University of Wisconsin’s faculty, staff and students, the next great technological advances from AI to health care will be driven right here in the Badger State, say Ray Cross and Alan Yeung.
Cross has served as president of the UW System since 2014. Yeung is director of strategic initiatives for Foxconn Corporation.
Read their essay “The Wisconsin Idea, Smart Cities, and our foray into the future.”
“The technologies we develop together will improve lives across Wisconsin and around the world,” they write.
“New AI 8K+5G technologies will allow us to do microsurgeries remotely, and enable connected and autonomous vehicles with the connectivity, AI and sensing technologies that they would need. Figuring out how to do that more efficiently, effectively and economically requires the creativity of the university, as well as a business mind, and of course the Midwestern “can-do” attitude.”
To pursue this vision, Foxconn recently launched an initiative called Smart Cities—Smart Futures. The competition invites current students, staff and faculty of the University of Wisconsin campuses, Wisconsin Technical College System and Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities to submit ideas for smart cities and systems. Categories range from improved quality of life to smart manufacturing, services and infrastructure. Submissions will be accepted until October 31.
The new essay is part of a larger online series called “Innovation and the Wisconsin Idea,” featuring more than 20 prominent contributors exploring the crucial interdependence between university innovations and the strength of the Wisconsin economy.
Co-authors represent different regions of the state while sharing a common bond through the field they represent, from agriculture and engineering to health care and policymaking.
Contributors to the series include:
- Erik Iverson, Managing Director, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
- Governor Tommy G. Thompson and Professor Mike Sussman
- Professor Dan Ludois and Cecil Edirisinghe, CEO of Velicon
- Chris Salm, CEO of Ab E Discovery, and Dean Kate VandenBosch
- Dr. Alan Kaplan, CEO of UW Health, and Dr. Susan Turney, CEO of Marshfield Clinic
- John Neis, Executive Managing Director of Venture Investors, and Cory Nettles, Founder and Managing Director of Generation Growth Capital Inc.
- Dean Ian Robertson and Greg Piefer, CEO of SHINE Medical Technologies
- Zach Brandon, President of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, and Tim Sheehy, President of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce
- Arjun Sanga, President of WiSys, and Zach Halmstad, Co-Founder of Jamf
- State Senator Luther Olsen and Dean Robert Golden
- Chancellor Dean Van Galen and Tom Still, President of the Wisconsin Technology Council
- State Senator Alberta Darling and Rock Mackie, Professor and Entrepreneur
- Mike Knetter, President of the University of Wisconsin Foundation
For more information about the series Innovation and the Wisconsin Idea, please visit warf.org/WisconsinInnovates. Comments on the series are welcome at [email protected].
About WARF
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) helps steward the cycle of research, discovery, commercialization and investment for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Founded in 1925 as an independent, nonprofit foundation, WARF manages more than 2,000 patents and an investment portfolio of $2.7 billion as it funds university research, obtains patents for campus discoveries and licenses inventions to industry. For more information, visit WARF.org and view WARF’s Cycle of Innovation.
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