Name: Dr. Martha Russell

Affiliation: Executive Director, MediaX
H-STAR Department
Stanford University

Country: Stanford, California USA

URL: http://mediax.stanford.edu/index.html#what

"As knowledge-creation catalyst and network orchestrator, anything (and everything) I’ve accomplished is attributable to the people around me and their willingness to collaborate with me and with each other. "

"My passion for knowledge created through interdisciplinary research has its history in my interests in biotechnology as it emerged from the fields of food science, agricultural sciences and biochemical engineering. Each domain was rooted in an interdisciplinary field that had emerged from separate disciplines and become established as its own field, providing an ongoing case study in the scaffolds of collaboration on which new fields of science emerge. The pattern has repeated itself in microelectronics and information sciences, manufacturing technologies, technology leadership and at the intersection of human sciences and advanced information technologies."

"The greatest challenges in leading knowledge creation programs are the creation of shared vision about the problem, the solution, and the benefits of collaboration. A lot of energy is spent overcoming the negative influence of decision biases, short term personal interests, and unstable financial resources. Business relevance is generally evaluated on a much shorter time frame than academic significance."

"The highest value in collaboration is to do something together that neither partner could do alone. By developing shared vision, research partners can discover their mutual interests and work toward their reciprocal benefit. This occurs at the interpersonal level, but it is crucial to also help their respective organizations understand the researchers’ intentions and become comfortable about the risks, timing and potential benefits their respective organizations may realize"

For further information on advice or consulting, please contact Dr. Clint Ackerman.