KSA meeting focuses on past, future innovation collaborations
The eighth annual Kendall Square Association (KSA) meeting took a reflective tone this year, showcasing how academic and industry collaborations have transformed MIT’s abutting district, Kendall Square, from an industrial wasteland into an innovation hub — and how future collaborations will further shape the district. In welcoming more than 200 meeting attendees — representatives from roughly 100 companies and organizations in Kendall Square and beyond — to MIT’s new Samberg Conference Center, former KSA President Alan Fein likened today’s digital revolution to the industrial revolution. “That [industrial] revolution was based on the steam engine and increasing use of machine tools,” Fein said. “This one is based on the vast power of computing and communications capabilities.” In Kendall Square, Fein added, the computational revolution has brought together researchers with different backgrounds and areas of expertise, such as biology and engineering, to innovate in shared labs and offices, and at universities. “Here in Kendall Square, we...