Dr. Bernard Arulanandam
Vice Provost, Research, Tufts University
Mr. Blair Bateson
Senior Vice President, Net Zero Strategy, Bank of America
Dr. Kirk Dombrowski
Vice President, Research and Economic Development, University of Vermont
Moderator: Mr. Chad Evans
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Council on Competitiveness
Out innovating our global competitors in the blue and green economies — spanning maritime technology, shipbuilding, biotechnology, advanced energy production, etc.— is essential for the future of the United States, and New England is at the forefront of developing and commercializing the technologies that will shape the United States' global standing in the future. This panel brought together leaders from business, research, and academia to explore how the United States can unleash the innovation and commercialization necessary to firmly establish itself as the global technology leader.
Chad Evans, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Council on Competitiveness, opened the session by citing the unprecedented convergence of emerging technologies and rising global competition as key drivers behind the urgent need to accelerate innovation and commercialization in the United States. The central questions, he posed, were these: How can the United States increase the speed of innovation, and what role can New England play in shaping this future?
"Is the United States moving fast enough to take advantage of today's new technologies, or are others moving faster than we are, preparing to ride the wave of technological wave to a greater height than us?"
Mr. Chad Evans
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Council on Competitiveness
Dr. Bernard Arulanandam, Vice Provost for Research at Tufts University, framed the current moment as an inflection point. The proliferation of artificial intelligence is amplifying the already transformative impact of digital connectivity. With its rich foundation in higher education and advanced technology, New England — particularly the Boston area — is well-positioned to thrive. However, Dr. Arulanandam asked, what is the force multiplier that can bring these assets together to meet the moment?
"Vannevar Bush's original was that the federal government would work to solve grand challenges. But today, from a higher education perspective, the grand challenges may be beyond the federal government."
Dr. Bernard Arulanandam
Vice Provost, Research
Tufts University
Highlighting the importance of the finance and private equity sectors, Dr. Arulanandam suggested that these actors may now play a larger role in driving innovation. While Vannevar Bush envisioned a federal government-led approach to addressing grand challenges, Dr. Arulanandam argued, but given the scope and scale of today’s problems, private capital must help fill the widening gap left by declining federal investment in research and development.
Dr. Kirk Dombrowski, Vice President for Research and Economic Development at the University of Vermont, echoed this sentiment while highlighting the duality of New England’s position. The region enjoys a dense concentration of industry, finance, and higher education institutions, yet it is small geographically and aging rapidly. Balancing these strengths and structural vulnerabilities will not be easy — especially if academia, one of the region’s greatest assets, is weakened.
Dr. Dombrowski maintained universities perform an irreplaceable role in the innovation ecosystem. Their access to cutting-edge scientific infrastructure, ability to attract philanthropic capital, and strong government relationships enable them to generate breakthrough research and train the next generation of innovators. However, in today’s politically charged environment, universities also carry increasing burdens and face mounting skepticism. Still, he insisted, no other institution can match the unique combination of capabilities that academia brings to innovation.
"If you could predict the innovations that you needed, then it would not happen at a university - it would happen at a business. It is the fact that you cannot predict what will work that keeps universities in business. If the United States loses that, we lose a big part of our competitiveness."
Dr. Kirk Dombrowski
Vice President, Research and Economic Development
University of Vermont
Mr. Blair Bateson, Senior Vice President for Net Zero Strategy at Bank of America, then outlined Bank of America’s perspective on fueling innovation. Unlike early-stage venture capitalists, the bank’s clients are generally past the "valley of death." Mr. Bateson asserted that approximately 75 percent of clean energy deployment will come not from emerging technologies, but from scaling existing ones. For Bank of America’s clients, the greatest challenge is not invention, but cost and scalability. In his view, disruptive technologies must not only compete with legacy systems — they must undercut them on cost to succeed at scale. Providing the capital and financial services to make that happen is where institutions like Bank of America play a critical role.
Mr. Evans then posed a sobering hypothetical: What would happen if federal research funding were cut by 25 or even 50 percent? Studies suggest such reductions could shrink GDP by 4 to 8 percent. How, then, can innovation endure?
Dr. Arulanandam responded by pointing out that a defining feature of the U.S. innovation ecosystem — one that other nations have sought to replicate — is robust public support for basic science. He referenced the green fluorescent protein, first isolated in the 1950s, which has since become a staple in biomedical research. Discoveries like that are only possible when fundamental science is supported. Without this backing, such breakthroughs will become increasingly rare. Universities are often the only institutions willing to pursue "anything" — the uncertain, the exploratory, and the unexpected. Without this flexibility, Dr. Dombrowski warned, the "serendipitous" discoveries that drive transformational progress will diminish. He cited research in which frog cells were turned into autonomous machines, potentially disrupting the fields of automation and biomanufacturing. No private company would have funded that work, he noted, because the outcome was impossible to anticipate.
Mr. Bateson added that although Bank of America does not fund basic research directly, it provides the financial scaffolding — home loans, car loans, and other essential services — that enables researchers to remain in New England. This support, while indirect, sustains the broader innovation ecosystem by keeping talent in place and allowing for the possibility of unexpected breakthroughs.
When asked whether artificial intelligence might help reduce the guesswork inherent in innovation, Dr. Arulanandam was optimistic. He saw significant promise in AI’s potential to improve reproducibility and accelerate the pace of academic research. In contrast, Dr. Dombrowski expressed concern. Universities, he observed, are fundamentally in the “sentence business”—they produce knowledge, much of it in the form of text. A machine capable of generating that output represents a profound disruption to the traditional academic model. In his view, higher education is unprepared for the transformative impact of generative AI.
Despite these concerns, Mr. Bateson offered a more optimistic perspective. He argued that AI is not likely to replace humans, but rather to complement them. Drawing an analogy from chess, he noted that while computers have long outperformed humans individually, human-computer teams consistently outperform machines alone. AI and human ingenuity, when combined, may unlock greater potential than either could achieve in isolation.
"AI does different things wells compared to humans; there is room for tremendous synergy, rather than just doom and gloom, if we design our organizations to take account of that."
Mr. Blair Bateson
Senior Vice President, Net Zero Strategy
Bank of America
Mr. Evans reminded the panel that during the 1990s, prevailing projections forecast that both the European Union and Japan would surpass the United States economically. But those forecasts failed to account for how effectively the United States would embrace the internet era. The result was a surge in productivity that left both regions behind. Asked whether the United States is prepared for the next wave of innovation, Mr. Bateson pointed to a critical gap. While digital productivity has soared, manufacturing productivity has lagged, particularly in the sectors central to the blue and green economies. This shortfall leaves the United States vulnerable in key areas like energy supply chains and advanced production infrastructure.
Looking ahead five to ten years, Dr. Dombrowski identified neural systems and autonomous technologies as the most likely to be transformative. Dr. Arulanandam emphasized renewable energy as the most important long-term area of focus, while noting that his institution would continue to support leading research in nutritional science. Mr. Bateson, reflecting the broad mandate of a national financial institution, said that Bank of America does not “pick winners.” Instead, the bank provides essential financial services across sectors—whether in the blue, green, or broader economy—ensuring that innovation of all kinds has access to the capital it needs to grow.
As the session drew to a close, the panel reflected on New England’s unique advantages. Dr. Arulanandam was unequivocal: the region’s deep reservoir of highly skilled labor is its greatest strength. If people are the engine of innovation, then New England is well-positioned to lead. Dr. Dombrowski, representing Vermont, pointed to Massachusetts’s leadership within the region. Individually, New England’s states are small, but when united—with Massachusetts at the helm—they form a powerful collective force. Mr. Bateson offered a more intangible yet no less significant asset: New England’s culture of unrestrained innovation. This reputation has become self-reinforcing, attracting those eager to push boundaries and make the impossible possible. Sustaining this momentum is vital if the United States is to remain the global innovation leader. It is this kind of mindset, he argued, that makes it possible to go from Kitty Hawk to the Moon in just 66 years—or to reach the next equivalent milestone of this century.
To conclude, Mr. Evans asked each panelist to offer one word or phrase that encapsulates New England’s future. Dr. Dombrowski chose “ambition,” citing a recent rise in regional energy and focus. Dr. Arulanandam selected “agility,” reflecting New England’s ability to pivot between sectors and seize emerging opportunities. Mr. Bateson closed with “responsible growth,” the title of Bank of America’s sustainability report — reminding all that sustainability cannot be achieved without meaningful growth, a truth that too often escapes environmental debates.
