Curtis Raymond Carlson (born May 22, 1945) was president and
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of
SRI International
SRI International (SRI) is an American nonprofit scientific research institute and organization headquartered in Menlo Park, California. The trustees of Stanford University established SRI in 1946 as a center of innovation to support economic d ...
from 1998 to 2014 and is a prominent technologist and pioneer in developing and using innovation best practices. While CEO of SRI International, revenue tripled to $550 million per year and tens of billions of dollars of new marketplace value was created, such as through Siri, an SRI spin-off company that was bought by Steve Jobs at Apple. While Carlson was CEO Mayfield Ventures partner, David Ladd, said, “SRI is now the best enterprise at turning its technology into economic value.”
Carlson has advised CEOs, ministers, and prime ministers on innovation and economic policy, including in the U.S., Denmark, Japan, Lithuania, Finland, Brazil, Taiwan, and Singapore. He served on President Obama’s National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE). He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Singapore National Research Foundation (NRF).
Carlson is the Founder and CEO of Practice of Innovation, LLC, a company working with start-ups, established companies, and government agencies on improving innovative performance. The innovation methodology he created at SRI is now used by companies and governments around the world, including the U.S., Singapore, Taiwan, Sweden, Finland, Chile, and Japan. His methodology is based on the use of
NABC Framework NABC is an initialism that may refer to any of the following:
*North American Bridge Championships, North American contract bridge tournaments
*National Association of Basketball Coaches, an American trade association of men's college basketball co ...
of value propositions. NABC stands for the important customer and market Needs, the unique and defensible Approach for the product and business model, and the Benefits per cost (value) of the product when compared to the Competition or alternatives. The utility of this definition is that it is the minimal complete formulation for a value proposition. NABC value propositions can be understood and used across the entire enterprise, regardless of size or type.
He is also serving as a professor of practice at
Northeastern University
Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...
, where he is further developing value creation methodology, called
Carlson-Polizzotto Method, along with his colleague Len Polizzotto.
A physics graduate of
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
''
, mottoeng = "Theory and Practice"
, established =
, former_name = Worcester County Free Institute of Industrial Science (1865-1886)
, type = Private research university
, endowme ...
and Ph.D. student in geophysical fluid dynamics from
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...
, he joined
Sarnoff Corporation
Sarnoff Corporation was a research and development company specializing in vision, video and semiconductor technology. It was named for David Sarnoff, the longtime leader of RCA and NBC, and had headquarters in West Windsor Township, New Jersey, t ...
after graduation and performed research on computer vision, human perception, and digital video. While at Sarnoff, Carlson led teams that developed the
HDTV
High-definition television (HD or HDTV) describes a television system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since 1936; in more recent times, it refers to the g ...
standard and designed a system to assess broadcast image quality, both of which were awarded a
Technology & Engineering Emmy Award
The Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards, or Technology and Engineering Emmys, are one of two sets of Emmy Awards that are presented for outstanding achievement in engineering development in the television industry. The Technology and Engineer ...
. In 1998, Carlson was named CEO of SRI International.
Education
Carlson earned his B.S. in
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
from
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
''
, mottoeng = "Theory and Practice"
, established =
, former_name = Worcester County Free Institute of Industrial Science (1865-1886)
, type = Private research university
, endowme ...
in 1967 and a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in
geophysical fluid dynamics
Geophysical fluid dynamics, in its broadest meaning, refers to the fluid dynamics of naturally occurring flows, such as lava flows, oceans, and planetary atmospheres, on Earth and other planets.
Two physical features that are common to many of th ...
from
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...
in 1973.
Career
Sarnoff Corporation
Starting in 1973, Carlson participated in research and development in the field of imaging systems, working with the
RCA Sarnoff Laboratory.
In 1981, Carlson was named the Director of the Image Quality and Perception Research Group and Vice President of the laboratory in 1990. In 1995, Carlson became Executive Vice President of Sarnoff's Interactive Systems Division.
He started the 1997 team that developed the
HDTV
High-definition television (HD or HDTV) describes a television system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since 1936; in more recent times, it refers to the g ...
program that became the US standard. He also started the 2000 team that designed a system to assess broadcast image quality. Both of these teams were awarded a
Technology & Engineering Emmy Award
The Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards, or Technology and Engineering Emmys, are one of two sets of Emmy Awards that are presented for outstanding achievement in engineering development in the television industry. The Technology and Engineer ...
s for their accomplishments.
SRI International
He served as the president of SRI International from 1998 to 2014,
and oversaw
Sarnoff Corporation
Sarnoff Corporation was a research and development company specializing in vision, video and semiconductor technology. It was named for David Sarnoff, the longtime leader of RCA and NBC, and had headquarters in West Windsor Township, New Jersey, t ...
's full integration into SRI in January 2011. During that period he was Chairman of the Sarnoff Corporation.
Carlson is known for a term known as "Carlson's Law", coined by ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' columnist
Thomas Friedman
Thomas Loren Friedman (; born July 20, 1953) is an American political commentator and author. He is a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner who is a weekly columnist for ''The New York Times''. He has written extensively on foreign affairs, global tr ...
to describe Carlson's balance between autocracy and democracy in an organization: "In a world where so many people now have access to education and cheap tools of innovation, innovation that happens from the bottom up tends to be chaotic but smart. Innovation that happens from the top down tends to be orderly but dumb."
Memberships and awards
In 2017 Carlson was selected to be a member of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute's "Hall of Luminaries." This award has been given to only eleven previous individuals in the over 150 year history of the university. He is a WPI trustee emeritus.
In December 2012, Carlson was named a Charter Fellow of the
National Academy of Inventors
The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) is a US non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging inventors in academia, following the model of the National Academies of the United States. It was founded at the University of South Florida in 2010. ...
. For his contributions to science, technology, and business, He also received the Suffolk University’s first Global Leadership in Innovation and Collaboration Award. He is an honorary Kobe Ambassador for SRI’s contributions to Kobe, Japan.
In 2010, he was named to the
National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship under President Obama. Carlson has served on several government task forces including the
Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, the
Army Science Board
The Army Science Board (ASB) provides advice about army science to senior military leaders. The ASB is a Federal Advisory Committee organized under the Federal Advisory Committee Act. It is the United States Department of the Army senior scienti ...
and the
Defense Science Board
The Defense Science Board (DSB) is a committee of civilian experts appointed to advise the U.S. Department of Defense on scientific and technical matters. It was established in 1956 on the recommendation of the second Hoover Commission.
Charter
...
task force on bio-chemical defense. He also serves on the
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...
Committee on Manufacturing, Design, and Innovation, and is a council member on the Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable, a joint body of the
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
, National Academy of Engineering, and the
Institute of Medicine
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, E ...
.
He is a member of the
Highlands Group, which makes recommendations to government officials regarding technological developments of interest to the government.
In 2002, Carlson was awarded Worcester Polytechnic Institute's
Robert H. Goddard
Robert Hutchings Goddard (October 5, 1882 – August 10, 1945) was an American engineer, professor, physicist, and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first Liquid-propellant rocket, liquid-fueled rocket. ...
Alumni Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement due to his contributions to science, technology, and business.
Carlson has been involved in establishing WPI's
Silicon Valley Project Center. He has given several
commencement speech
A commencement speech or commencement address is a speech given to graduating students, generally at a university, although the term is also used for secondary education institutions and in similar institutions around the world.
The commencement ...
es, including at WPI on May 20, 2006; at Stevens Institute of Technology on May 22, 2008; at the Malaysian Technical University, at Shantou University in China, at Menlo College in California, and at the
University of Richmond
The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...
on May 8, 2011.
For his role in advancing the functional performance and image quality of information displays, Carlson received the
Otto H. Schade
Otto H. Schade (April 27, 1903 – April 28, 1981) was a television pioneer, best known for his work on evaluating the gradation, graininess and sharpness in film and television images, and his aperture theory that mathematically modeled the system ...
Award from the
Society for Information Display
The Society for Information Display (SID) is an industry organization for displays, generally electronic displays such as televisions and computer monitors. SID was founded in September 1962. Its main activities are publishing technical journals ...
in June 2006.
Carlson has received honorary degrees from Worcester Polytechnic Institute,
Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology is a private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely dedicated to mechanical ...
and
Kettering University
Kettering University is a private university in Flint, Michigan. It offers Bachelor of Science, bachelor of science and master's degree, master’s degrees in Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, STEM (science, technology, engineeri ...
.
Carlson is a member of the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...
,
Sigma Xi
Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...
,
Tau Beta Pi
The Tau Beta Pi Association (commonly Tau Beta Pi, , or TBP) is the oldest engineering honor society and the second oldest collegiate honor society in the United States. It honors engineering students in American universities who have shown a ...
, and the
Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) (, rarely ), founded in 1916 as the Society of Motion Picture Engineers or SMPE, is a global professional association of engineers, technologists, and executives working in the m ...
.
He is a member of the US National Science Foundation's Directorate for Engineering Advisory Committee. He was a member of the National Academy of Engineering team that made recommendations to the National Science Foundation on the use of global value creation best practices. With Len Polizzotto he has worked with the NSF to help implement the NAE recommendations and has provided NSF a Value-Creation Guidebook on their application.
Selected publications
*
* , named in ''
Bloomberg Businessweek
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...
''s as a best Best Business Book of 2006.
References
External links
One on One with Curtis Carlson, CEO of SRI InternationalApril 27, 2001
September 11, 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlson, Curtis
1945 births
Living people
Worcester Polytechnic Institute alumni
Rutgers University alumni
Place of birth missing (living people)
SRI International people