Science, Environment and Development Group

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Thursday, 11 December 2003
R&D Systems at IBM: Lessons from Flat-Panel Display Commercialization
Leader: Lewis Branscomb, Professor Emeritus of Public Policy and Corporate Management, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and former Vice President and Chief Scientist of IBM
Guest Speaker: James McGroddy, Consultant and former Senior Vice President of Research, IBM
11:45 am - 2:00 pm, Perkins Room (E-415), 4th Floor, Eliot Building, KSG (Map)
Lunch will be served

Biography:

Jim McGroddy is a consultant and advisor to firms, universities and government agencies in the U.S., Europe and Asia on a wide variety of technical and management subjects, with a focus on telecommunications, information technology and the use of these technologies in national security, healthcare and education. McGroddy retired from IBM as a Senior Vice President, Research at the end of 1996, after leading its research laboratories from 1989 to 1995. During his tenure, which spanned the period of IBM’s most difficult challenges, he led a major restructuring of its Research efforts, building a model and management system which is now widely emulated. He played a leading role in the transformation of IBM and the introduction of new products, technologies and service offerings, including the flat panel display joint venture with Toshiba, a major family of parallel supercomputers, and the silicon-germanium chip technology. His leadership was recognized by being awarded the Frederik Philips Medal of the IEEE and the George Pake Award of the American Physical Society.

In addition to his consulting activities McGroddy is the Chairman of the Board of MIQS, a company providing clinical information systems and electronic medical record capability aimed at improving the quality and cost-effectiveness of the care of the chronically ill. He serves as a director and member of the audit committee of Paxar, Inc., a NYSE traded firm. He is a member of the board of Advanced Networking and Services, Inc. From 1995 to 1999 he was Chairman of the Board of Integrated Surgical Systems, a public company which was spun out of IBM Research and which delivers robotic products for orthopedic surgery. As Chairman of the Board of the Stellaris Healthcare Network in 2000 and 2001 and as former Chairman of the Board of Phelps Memorial Hospital Center he has been heavily involved in the restructuring of the local health care delivery system in Westchester County. He serves as a Trustee of his alma mater, St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia as well as a member of the advisory boards of a number of startup firms and university departments.

McGroddy originally joined IBM in its Research Division in 1965 after receiving a PhD in Physics from the University of Maryland. He earned his BS in Physics from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia in 1958. In his first years at IBM Research he focused on research in solid state physics and electronic devices, and as a result of achievements in these areas was named a Fellow of both the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and of the American Physical Society. In the 1970-71 academic year he was a Visiting Professor of Physics at the Danish Technical University. Returning to IBM, he served in a number of management positions in research, development and manufacturing before being named IBM’s Director of Research in 1989. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering. Married to Sheree Wen, he is the father of four daughters and one son. The family resides in Briarcliff Manor, NY.

Presentation slides:

McGroddy, James. "R&D Systems at IBM: Lessons from Flat-Panel Display Commercialization." Presentation slides from Knowledge for Development Seminar, 11 December 2003, Center for International Development, Harvard University.

Background documents:

McGroddy, Jim. 1997. "DTI: Lessons from a Successful Joint Venture." Information Display 7:18-19, 22-23.

Frosch, Robert A. 1996. "The Customer for R&D Is Always Wrong!" Research*Technology Management 39(November/December): 22-27.

Further readings:

Flamm, Kenneth S. 1994. "Flat-Panel Displays: Catalyzing a U.S. Industry." Issues in Science and Technology 11(1): 27-32.

McGroddy, James C. 1995. "Research Restructuring and Assessment at IBM." Chapter 2 in Research Restructuring and Assessment: Can We Apply the Corporate Experience to Government Agencies? by the National Research Council, Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics and Applications. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Branscomb, Lewis M. 1986. "IBM and U.S. Universities--An Evolving Partnership." IEEE Transactions on Education E-29(2): 69-77.

Kolasky, Bob. 2002. "A Clear View of Innovation: Mammography Goes Digital." General Electric case with introductory notes by Lewis M. Branscomb. Unpublished paper, 22 January.

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