Distinguished Lecture Series

An Introduction to Bold Thinking and Innovation

The RENCI Distinguished Lecture Series brings to North Carolina and the Triangle area speakers who personify the renaissance ideal: people who take original approaches; who solve problems by thinking of bold and creative solutions; who are unafraid to step outside their comfort zone. RENCI Distinguished Lecturers have earned reputations as experts in their fields through collaboration, a willingness to learn from others, and by having the courage to take risks in order to achieve meaningful results. Their ideas, inventions and innovations inspire other bold thinkers and impact the way we live, work and play.

RENCI Distinguished Lectures are two times a year at sites around the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area. Lectures generally last an hour to 90 minutes, followed by questions from the audience. All lectures are free and open to the general public.

Past Lectures
Irving Wladawsky-Berger

Vice President, Technical Strategy and Innovation, IBM Corporation

“At the Threshold of a 21st Century Business Revolution”

Chris Landreth
Independent Filmmaker and Animator Copper Heart Entertainment and the National Film Board of Canada

Toronto, Ontario, Canada
“From Fluid Mechanics to Animated Filmmaking: A Personal Journey”

Robert D. Atkinson Ph.D.
President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
, Washington, D.C.
“The New Global Innovation Economy: Implications for North Carolina”

Michael Jones
Chief Technology Advocate, Google
“Informing the Global Information Society”
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Kathryn Kleiman
Historian and Executive Producer, ENIAC Programmers Project
“Shaking Up Computer History: Finding the Women of ENIAC”
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