Dr. Joseph A. Miller, Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer, Corning Incorporated
Eberly College of Science, Pennsylvania State University - Spring Commencement Ceremony
May 14, 2011
[As prepared for delivery]

Dean Larson, Mr. Huck, distinguished guests…faculty, families, friends…and Eberly College of Science class of 2011.

It’s a tremendous honor to give the commencement address at a university that means so much to me.

The first time I walked onto campus was with my father in 1959 when I was a high-school senior.  I came to run the 440-yard dash in the state meet at old Beaver Field, just next to Rec Hall.  I don’t remember exactly how I placed, but I do remember who won.

A sophomore from Kennett Square by the name of Donald Webster ran the race in under 48 seconds and set a new state record.  He ultimately went on to Villanova and to the 1964 Olympics.  As for me, I came to two conclusions that day.  The first was that I didn’t have a career in track and field.  The second was that someday I wanted to return to this beautiful campus as a student.

I graduated from Penn State with my Ph.D. in chemistry in 1967.  And in 1999, I had the proud experience of watching my youngest daughter graduate from this university that I love so.

Yet even older than my love of Penn State, is my love affair with science and technology.

I grew up in Northeastern Pennsylvania in a working-class immigrant neighborhood in the town of West Pittston.  Neither of my parents went to college.  In fact, they didn’t go to high-school.  But I was blessed to be part of a family and community that recognized the value of education.  And I was fortunate to attend a school that understood the importance of science and math.

I still remember Mr. Templin, the school principal, all 6’4” of him, coming into my sixth-grade class decked out in his usual worsted woolen suit, vest, watch fob and all, and teaching us about the steam engine.  There was a coal train that ran right behind my house, and Mr. Templin gave me insights into how it worked - explaining energy conversion and mechanical advantage.

Later I had my first “Aha!” moment in chemistry, when my tenth-grade teacher Mr. Shook, a Penn Stater, demonstrated how the hydrogen generator works.  He dripped hydrochloric acid onto zinc and ignited the hydrogen that was evolved.  We felt how hot the generator got. I learned the meaning of the word “exothermic,” and I thought I was really smart.

That thrill of discovery has remained with me my entire life.

I graduated college at the beginning of great cultural change for our country.  The civil rights movement was in full swing, and our nation was becoming more divided over our presence in Southeast Asia.  But despite widespread social ambiguity, there was tremendous certainty about the importance of science and engineering. 

The elucidation of the double helix structure of DNA in 1954 was helping unlock mysteries in health and medicine.  The development of the transistor, the integrated circuit, and the laser was expanding possibilities in communications and electronics. And President Kennedy had just announced the audacious goal of sending an American safely to and from the moon.  

There was an insatiable need for scientists and engineers, and I was one of the “Sputnik kids” eager to answer the call.

We did of course, put a man on the moon.  And that same spirit of scientific discovery led to innovations that I could never have imagined when I sat in your place.  The Internet, the artificial heart, and sophisticated computer processing technology in everything from iPods to greeting cards.

While these technologies may seem commonplace now, I can assure you that during your lifetime, you will witness and participate in discoveries and breakthroughs beyond your imagination. 

Today, science, technology, and engineering remain as vital as ever.  We’re facing unprecedented challenges:  the need for energy self-sufficiency, adequate potable water, affordable health care, and efficient information exchange to name a few.  Challenges we will only surmount through discovery and innovation.  And, as President Obama noted when he was on campus in February, ubiquitous invention and innovation depends on our scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs. It depends on you.

I don’t have answers to all the challenges our world is facing. But I have learned a few things during my 45 years as a scientist and R&D leader.  I’d like to share some of those experiences and advice that I hope you find useful as you embark on your careers.

The first is the importance of life-long learning.  Like you, I received exceptional training at Penn State, but my education neither began nor ended here.

Despite only completing sixth grade, my dad was one of my best teachers.  He was part of a generation that prided itself on self-sufficiency – he did his own plumbing, gardening, electrical work, car repair, roof repair – you name it.  I followed him everywhere and I learned how things were put together and how to work with my hands. When it came time to do my graduate work my experience tinkering with and building equipment served me well.

I’ve continued to jump on every opportunity to learn from the people around me.  As a result, I certainly know much more science and technology today than when I earned my Ph.D. — or what I knew five years ago or one year ago, for that matter.

My second piece of advice is to take a chance and step outside your comfort zone.  I began my career at DuPont wanting to be the best organic and polymer chemist they ever had.  I was extremely comfortable in the lab.  I loved reading the journals.  And I loved the rich discussions with our consultants who were some of the great chemists of the time – people like Jack Roberts and Andy Streitweiser.

But about six years into my career, I was asked to step out of the lab and lead a team.  It meant walking away from my security blanket.  If I stayed in the lab, I knew I’d have a good chance of becoming a research fellow.  But I took a chance, even though I wasn’t sure where it would lead.

As a result, I was challenged to learn what leadership is all about – leading teams, surrounding myself with talented people, setting priorities, providing direction, and trusting that people will do their very best.  And I continued to take chances.  I accepted a job in a manufacturing facility.  I led a team of engineers, which required me to learn about engineering and understand the massive responsibilities engineers carry.  I relocated for a job that forced me to work directly with customers.  I loved every moment.  Each step prepared me to be a more complete innovator and technology leader.

My third piece of advice is to welcome diverse ideas and seize opportunities for collaboration.  Turning ideas into realities and then into commercial products is a difficult and intense process.  Invention is only the first step in a multi-step, multi-year process with steep peaks of euphoria and deep valleys of disappointment.  Innovation is a massive social process.  Success requires building networks and relationships.  It requires you to collaborate with multiple disciplines and cultures.

During your careers, you may be fortunate enough to encounter true genius.  And when you do, it’s spectacular.  But I can tell you from experience that genius will only get you so far.  A team of very capable people from diverse disciplines and backgrounds all bringing their talents and integrating their capabilities will beat genius most every time. 

I’ll give you an example of one of the greatest team efforts that I have been part of.  I’m sure you’re familiar with nylon, which was discovered and developed at DuPont in 1935 by a team led by chemist Wallace Carothers and is probably the largest-selling specialty polymer of all time.  It was an important part of our war effort, providing material for uniforms and parachutes and found its “killer app” after WWII in nylon stockings. 

But for nylon to remain a successful and growing product, we had to change its economics of production.  I was part of a team of chemists and engineers in 1971 that discovered new chemistry for production of nylon’s most critical intermediate.  To manufacture a billion pounds of this intermediate, the new process required the handling of tens of thousands of pounds an hour of hydrogen cyanide — and you all know how dangerous HCN is.  So it wasn’t just a chemistry challenge, it was an enormous engineering task.  We needed to ensure the safety of large-scale manufacturing, of transportation, and be certain we understood the economics of production, which required logistics experts and financial and business people. 

Ultimately we improved Nylon manufacturing costs so significantly that we enabled new price points in applications our predecessors never envisioned.  The nylon business was put on a new growth path that lasted at least 20 years.  But all that wouldn’t have happened without broad effective collaboration.

I’ve experienced the same thing at Corning. One of Corning’s most exciting products is a drug-discovery tool that uses optical biosensors to generate extremely detailed information on how proteins interact with drug targets.  The Epic system has the potential to accelerate the speed and reduce the costs of drug discovery, which is a notoriously time-consuming and expensive process.  Despite a long history in life sciences, the technology wasn’t simply born from Corning’s biology expertise.  It was the result of combining competencies in optics, III-V semiconductors, surface chemistry, and biology to create a unique solution to a difficult problem.

I can give you many other examples – but bottom line: Bringing diverse perspectives to bear on difficult challenges will often yield breakthrough results.

My final piece of advice is to remain true to yourself and the courage of your convictions.  I’ve underscored the importance of teamwork, but I also want to stress the importance of individuality.  Let’s face it — scientists can be an odd bunch. They’re contrary.  They’re difficult.  And many times, they’re just plain weird. But that contrarian spirit is often what makes scientists so valuable as inventors and innovators.

It’s important that we create and sustain environments where people can be who they really are and are not forced to conform to arbitrary conventions.  Scientists must have freedom to pursue their ideas.  Businesses often need to do what is safe and what is financially attractive in the short term.  But safe doesn’t usually lead to scientific breakthroughs.

A number of years ago, I worked on a project that was pursuing a DNA fingerprint technology to identify the type and source of bacteria in foods.  We were ordered by the CEO to shut it down because it was too long-term and too expensive.  But we believed in the technology.  We knew it had tremendous potential to improve food safety.  So we “hid” the project and kept working on it.  That CEO has moved on, but the technology has become one of DuPont’s most interesting and forward-looking businesses.

I’m not recommending you routinely defy your managers or that you stubbornly cling to ideas that are not feasible.  Successful innovation often requires making difficult choices, including killing projects that you care about.  But there will be times when you need to take a contrary approach and go to the mat for what you believe in.

I’ll close by noting that I’ve had the privilege of working for two great innovation companies.  I’m asked many times what metrics I use to calculate the return on investment for Research.  My answer is that DuPont’s 200-plus years and Corning’s 160 years didn’t happen by accident.  These companies have succeeded for centuries because of their deep belief in the power of science and technology to change lives.

As our new generation of scientists, you have the skills and the power to change lives… and our society needs you.

The number of science, technology, and engineering majors in the United States has been steadily declining.  You are among the few who have answered that call.

You have a responsibility to make our world better for yourself, your children, and future generations.  It’s a challenging responsibility, but it’s a wonderful responsibility, as well.

Like I said at the beginning of my remarks, I’ve experienced the joy of discovery my entire life.  I hope the same for you.

Thank you for answering the call and congratulations!

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