SAN DIEGO (Press Release) – The U.S.-Israel Center on Innovation and Economic Sustainability (USIC) at the Rady School of Management on Thursday, July 3, announced the new Stanley Foster Memorial Cal-Israel Innovations Speaker Series. The speaker series will honor the late Stanley Foster, a highly respected civic leader and a pillar in the San Diego community who exemplified innovation, business leadership and entrepreneurial spirit. The inaugural event, which is open to the public, will be held on July 21, at the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego. A cocktail reception will begin at 5:30 p.m. with the program beginning at 6 p.m.
The aim of the speaker series and an associated invitation-only, international economic roundtable is to highlight and further the goals established by the California-Israel Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by California Governor Jerry Brown and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in March 2014. The primary objectives of the agreement are to foster job creation in California and Israel and to incubate global solutions through joint initiatives. Special emphasis will be placed on identifying and creating new educational and market opportunities in key sectors, including but not limited to: water conservation and management, alternative energy and related clean technologies, health and biotechnology solutions, cybersecurity, arts and culture, education, and agricultural technologies.
The July 21 international event will include welcoming remarks by Israeli Consul General David Siegel and Rady School Dean Robert S. Sullivan, followed by a presentation by Yosef Abramowitz, President and Co-Founder, Energiya Global and a bilateral panel discussion to be moderated by Professor Glenn Yago, Senior Fellow, Milken Institute and Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Confirmed panelists include: Gary Jacobs, Board Member at NGT Nazareth; Eyal Aronoff, Co-Founder, Fuel Freedom Foundation; David Zilberman, UC Berkeley Professor and Robinson Chair; Naty Barak, Chief Sustainability Officer, Netafim, and Rady Alum Martin Sabarksy, CEO, Cellana.
“In making this agreement operational throughout California, we’ll unite the two major global innovation hubs, California and Israel, into a universal platform for launching solutions,” said Glenn Yago, who will moderate both the economic roundtable and evening speaker series panel discussion. “We will organize work teams to define measurable objectives to quantitatively increase water recycling and fresh water conservation management levels to achieve Israeli levels of performance; commercialize new biotechnology and health care delivery by producing highly efficient and predictable clinical outcome 24/7; and create low-carbon solutions to energy problems in the years ahead.”
“We are pleased to host these important events and help develop a global innovation engine fueled by the respective strengths of these two technological powerhouses,” said Jeri Rubin, USIC Executive Director. “Bringing visionary leaders together to foster new channels for learning, joint research, cross-cultural business exchange and job creation is central to USIC’s mission. Both California and Israel have such a rich history of developing revolutionary technology-based solutions to global challenges, from building out the Internet and connecting the world to inventing sustainable drip-irrigation technologies to make the desert bloom. Just imagine what we can achieve by working more closely together to catalyze positive impact – not just to enhance the vitality of California and Israel—but to empower people and communities throughout the world.”
For more information on the Cal-Israel Speaker Series, go to: http://www.rady.ucsd.edu/usic/events/
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Preceding provided by the UCSD Rady School of Management