Stanford University
Dr. John Hennessy has been President of Stanford University since 2000. He became a Stanford faculty member in 1977. He rose through the academic ranks to full professorship in 1986 and was the inaugural Willard R. and Inez Kerr Bell Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from 1987 to 2004.
A pioneer in computer architecture, in 1981 Dr. Hennessy drew together researchers to focus on a computer architecture known as RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer), a technology that has revolutionized the computer industry by increasing performance while reducing costs. In 1984, he used his sabbatical year to found MIPS Computer Systems Inc. to commercialize his research in RISC processors.
Dr. Hennessy is a recipient of the 2000 IEEE John von Neumann Medal, a 2004 NEC C&C Prize for lifetime achievement in computer science and engineering, and a 2005 Founders Award from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Hennessy earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Villanova University and his master's and doctoral degrees in computer science from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Related Links: www.stanford.edu
Last Updated: Thu, Feb 19, 2009
In academia and the private sector, innovation is the most elusive element. And, adds Stanford University President John Hennessy, it's also needed to solve crucial local and global issues. In this address that launches the University's prestigious Entrepreneurship Week event, Hennessy discusses the evolving interplay between higher learning and commercial progress.
Stanford President John Hennessy kicks off the 2009 Global Innovation Tournament by challenging students to solve the world's major problems through innovation. 
Universities and research labs force people to live on the edge of technology, says John Hennessy, President of Stanford University. And this exploration, he points out, helps them to uncover that which is not obvious. Hennessy recalls a case study to prove his point. Thinking back to his first interaction with the Yahoo! prototype, he notes that the company's founders were motivated by a need for real navigation. He also talks about how the meaning of search evolved as the web's user base and content grew, and that Google's approach better met that market need. Both companies identified real opportunity and acted accordingly.
Why are companies that plant roots in academia or a research environment more successful than other start-ups? John Hennessy, President of Stanford University, says that these research-heavy innovators are not only well-versed in their subject matter, but they are also optimists for their project's eventual triumph.
How can the academic environment begin to solve some of the largest problems on the planet? Environmental sustainability, energy use, and disease biology are just a few of the world's looming issues that require not just a single innovation for progress, but collaborative, interdisciplinarian solutions. It is the university's responsibility, says Stanford President John Hennessy, to assemble diverse teams that can address these issues and offer them the resources to explore them. It is unlikely, he says, that these large global issues will be successfully addressed by a pure entrepreneurship model. 
How is Stanford University facilitating long-lasting relationships between departments? President of the University John Hennessy encourages students to make connections, but he also highlights other more concrete efforts to align research in adjacent disciplines. Stanford also provides some seed capital for aspiring ventures with promise.
Though the ambitions of those who wish to start a great learning institution are admirable, chances are, says Stanford President John Hennessy, that they lack the financial resources to make it so. Ten billion dollars is mere seed funding, says Hennessy. If one still decides to pursue the business of academia, he suggests that the rollout is slow. Start small and excellent, with a single great program, and scale gradually. Your organization will go farther than if you begin both broad and thin. If your institution is quality, it will attract top talent from across the globe, promoting its own future success.
During the 2008/2009 era of the government bailout of the banks, Stanford President John Hennessy strongly suggests that executive compensation should be directly tied to measurable performance in any enterprise. He points to current research that found that the best performing companies on Wall Street - even during this stifling climate - have CEO's whose earning are tied to measurable profitability. 
John Hennessy, Stanford University's 10th president, talks about how the future of Silicon Valley lies in supporting the creative environment fueled by the combination of universities, big companies, and the entrepreneurial spirit. The creative environment is conducive to innovation because you never can predict where the next breakthrough will occur, he says.
Hennessy answers the question: Can the walls between Stanford and Silicon Valley ever become too permeable? Yes, he says, there are situations in which a conflict of interest or conflict of commitment can cause problems. The break between academia and business should occur when the focus of the research becomes about productizing the research rather than about the research itself.
Hennessy explians that the biotech and biomedical space are characterized by the importance of patents. Contrarily, patents are not crucial in intellectual property companies because there are often many comparable ways to do the same thing. Additionally, most IT companies spun out of a university fail because they miss the market window, not because the technology fails. For biotech companies, success is much more based on the patent and the quality of the technology, he adds.
A good entrepreneurial company requires a variety of people with diverse skills, says Hennessy. Though there is a natural tendency to focus on the technology side of the company, non-engineering people are just as critical as the engineering people. In addition, the success of a venture is not based solely on the skills of the technical employees, but on the ability of the team to work together.
Hennessy answers the question: How do you get people to stay at Stanford when there is so much opportunity in the business sphere? He remarks that companies are great things, but they are missing most of what makes a university so appealing to its employees: the freshness and excitement of the students and the freedom to conduct one's own research.
Hennessy predicts that the internet revolution is only half over. The remaining opportunities will be harder to find, but there is still a big impact to be made. Computers are still way too complicated and could be doing a lot more for the user. Wireless technology will increase mobility. In order to allow the continuation of increased performance in computing, there will have to be some major changes in technology.
Hennessy believes there is a penalty for living in the technology center of the world. It comes in the form of a high cost of living and being subjected to the fickleness of the entrepreneurial spirit, demonstrated by the bursting of the bubble. Some sacrifices have to be made to stay, but ultimately, the Silicon Valley is too exciting a place to leave, he adds.
Hennessy explains It is not necessarily a bad thing that centers of entrepreneurship are beginning to emerge elsewhere. The high cost of living in the Silicon Valley will be a key issue in its future because it will be a challenge to be number one in the burgeoning biotech revolution while maintaining the current cost structure.
Hennessy explains that the Clark Center is important to the future of Stanford because it represents the growing importance of biology to the coming century. It is a radical organization for a university because it brings together faculty from a broad range of departments in an attempt to understand the translation between basic science and the applications of basic science.
Hennessy talks about how entrepreneurship holds great potential for social endeavors. Entrepreneurs think about solving problems in different ways and therefore can offer unique and innovative solutions. Not all the lessons from business can carry over, but many will apply, he adds.
Hennessy explains there are opportunities for spin-off technology from big science government projects which can lead to startups and companies. GPS, which was a successful spin-off of Gravity Pro-B, is an example. He believes that the best environments for discovery and creativity are ones that include a wide range of people with different expertise. Universities are special because they provide the opportunity for people to work together and share ideas, creating a more productive, and more interesting, environment.