Description
For more information on the SPRING program, please visit IRISPRING.com
Contributors
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Jim Redden, RTI Advisors
Jim specializes in advising corporate and government clients looking to improve their innovation processes and outcomes. An expert at facilitating innovation, he understands the complexities of organizational innovation initiatives and loves applying innovation best practices to help teams solve new challenges. Jim has helped establish innovation programs in the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and in companies across the U.S. Jim brings a diverse set of industry perspectives, having worked as an engineer in a large oil and gas company and as a teacher in a small education non-profit prior to joining the Innovation Advisors. Jim has a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame. He is a podcast connoisseur, a whitewater rafting enthusiast, and a Cincinnati native.
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Tom Culver, RTI Advisors
Tom Culver has nearly 20 years of experience in innovation management and technology commercialization experience. He specializes in strategic innovation consulting, helping to facilitate innovation events and presenting on a wide variety of innovation management topics, including technology scouting and market intelligence.
Culver delivers innovation advising and open innovation services to Fortune 500 companies like PepsiCo, PPG Industries, and Newell Rubbermaid, in addition to developing new innovation programs for large government clients like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He has also assessed more than 175 technologies for potential commercialization and provided dozens of customer market analyses.
In addition to engineering expertise in the materials, design, and fabrication of optics and optical coatings honed at Diamonex, Inc., and Litton Itek Optical Systems, Culver has an extensive background in surface modification and coatings; advanced photonics and micro- and nanotechnologies; sensors and sensor systems; and emerging green chemistry and biopolymer technologies.