On October 13, 2016, President Obama will travel to Pittsburgh to host the White House Frontiers Conference, a national convening that the White House is co-hosting with the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University to explore the future of innovation here and around the world. The convening will include topics in the November issue of WIRED, which will be guest-edited by the President on the theme of “Frontiers.” The conference will focus on building U.S. capacity in science, technology, and innovation, and the new technologies, challenges and goals that will continue to shape the 21st century and beyond.

The White House Frontiers Conference will bring together some of the world’s leading innovators in Pittsburgh to discuss how investing in science and technology frontiers will help improve lives, including progress and investments that are keeping America and Americans on the cutting edge of innovation.

The Conference will include programming featuring five “Frontiers” of innovation:

Personal frontiers in health care innovation and precision medicine;

in health care innovation and precision medicine; Local frontiers in building smart, inclusive communities, including through investments in open data and the Internet of things;

in building smart, inclusive communities, including through investments in open data and the Internet of things; National frontiers in harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence, including data science, machine learning, automation, and robotics to engage and benefit all Americans;

in harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence, including data science, machine learning, automation, and robotics to engage and benefit all Americans; Global frontiers in accelerating the clean energy revolution and developing advanced climate information, tools, services, and collaborations; and

in accelerating the clean energy revolution and developing advanced climate information, tools, services, and collaborations; and Interplanetary frontiers in space exploration, including our journey to Mars.

Additional themes will cut across the conference’s programming, including the importance of cross-sector collaboration for solving difficult challenges; education innovation to develop skills for Americans at all levels; job creation across these sectors; and equity, to ensure all Americans have access to these innovations and benefit from advances in these frontiers.



President Barack Obama greets Emily Bergenroth, Alicia Cutter, Karissa Cheng, Addy O’Neal, and Emery Dodson, all six-year-old Girl Scouts, from Tulsa, Oklahoma as he viewed their science exhibit during the 2015 White House Science Fair celebrating student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) competitions, in the Red Room, March 23, 2015. The girls used Lego pieces and designed a battery-powered page turner to help people who are paralyzed or have arthritis. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Over the past 8 years, President Obama has committed his Administration to reinvigorating and broadening participation in the American scientific enterprise through a strong commitment to basic and applied research, innovation, modernization, and education. As part of delivering on this commitment, we look forward to celebrating progress to date and convening an inspiring cross-sector, action-oriented discussion about the path forward at the White House Frontiers Conference in October.

To learn more about the conference please visit FrontiersConference.org.

FrontiersConference.org

To nominate an innovator on the frontiers of science, technology, and new approaches to attend, please fill out the form below.

To recognize the wide-ranging diversity of innovation taking place across the United States, we are seeking nominations for a small number of spots to attend the Conference. Nominate a leader, colleague, role model, or yourself by completing the form below. Please provide as much context on the nominee’s contribution to the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation as possible.