TJ Rodgers, the outspoken CEO of Cypress Semiconductor, was one of four Visionary Awards recipients at the Oscars of Silicon Valley June 21st – a gathering of Silicon Valley elite presented by SV Forum. He was introduced by Eric Benhamou of Benhamou Ventures who described Rodgers as “a tough boss, argumentative and very competitive,” and added “I’m using polite language here.”
Renowned for his libertarian views, and highly critical of government “meddling” in the economy, Rodgers, who led the acquisition of SunPower by Cypress in 2004, shared some of his business philosophy with Fresh Dialogues. And check out this VIDEO CLIP to hear why Rodgers almost named Cypress “Pear Tree” and how he maintains his passion for learning…in his hot tub, with the newspapers, a floating desk and LEDs.
TJ Rodgers on global warming
“Global warming is a secular religion…I call it the Church of Greenhouse Gases.”
TJ Rodgers on New York Times columnist and author of Hot, Flat and Crowded, Tom Friedman
“Friedman is doing a disservice to the American economy. He’s a writer. He knows nothing about cleantech and creating businesses and jobs.”
TJ Rodgers on the role of government in stimulating the green economy
“I believe in a level playing field. Scrap subsidies for oil….I’m against laws like AB 32.”
Note: In 2010, TJ Rodgers took a strong and vocal stand for California’s Proposition 23, which sought the suspension of AB 32, the law that regulates greenhouse gas emissions. He quit his position on the board of SunPower, adding, “I was at odds with the management of SunPower…they knew who I was when I saved their ass.” (referring to Cypress Semiconductor’s purchase of Sunpower in 2004 which proved to be a mutually advantageous choice for both companies)
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TJ Rodgers on why you should invest in cleantech
“A ‘greater good” motivation is not a good argument. Business isn’t charity. Create products people need, efficiently and produce profit for shareholders. Profits give you the moral high ground…they make for a good economy and more jobs.”
TJ Rodgers on cleantech entrepreneurs who want to ‘save the planet’
“I’d be more skeptical about investing in cleantech entrepreneurs who are motivated by global warming…it’s like a religion. It’s not good business.”
The 2011 Visionary Awards Ceremony was held at the home of Kelly Porter in Los Altos Hills on June 21, the longest… and also the hottest day of the year. This annual ceremony – the Oscars of Silicon Valley – honored four distinguished technology innovators – Dr. Hermann Hauser (Amadeus Capital Partners), Promod Haque (Norwest Venture Partners), Bud Tribble (Apple Inc.) and TJ Rodgers (Cypress Semiconductor Corporation). Presented by SVForum, previously SDForum, “SV” Silicon Valley – was an important theme of the evening. In accepting their awards, honorees attempted to answer the question: what makes Silicon Valley unique? Or in the case of TJ Rodgers, what makes him unique?
The energetic Susan Lucas-Conwell kicked things off by announcing the new-look SVForum – which has outgrown its SDForum, Software Development status – and is now focused on its Silicon Valley roots. “We continue to grow and evolve,” she said. “We serve a broad footprint covering the entire technology industry.” Interesting to note that cleantech was the first sector she cited, along with the usual suspects: healthcare, IT, software, social media, cloud etc. With a jazzy new logo and a succinct mission to connect, engage and excel; SVForum looks poised for an exciting new chapter.
Promod Haque was introduced by Ken Comee of IBM who promised a “This is your Life” moment. Much to the relief of the audience, it was more of a 21st Century Twitter version (ie short and pithy). Promod began by reflecting on the uniqueness of being a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley – its philosophy and values. There was a collective holding of breath. Were we about to hear the Holy Grail of Silicon Valley?
“The freedom to fail is unique about Silicon Valley,” said Promod. “It’s an essential piece of innovating.” Déjà vu anyone? It’s a popular – even over-used – refrain these days and one that has surfaced previously at the Visionary Awards. Anyone remember Vinod Khosla expound the same philosophy at the 2009 Visionary Awards? Déjà vu or not, Promod’s comments underlined the consensus that it’s a vital part of Silicon Valley’s magic.
Promod then elaborated…“I tell my kids…my entrepreneurs, ‘when you do have failure, it’s not a person, it’s an event in their life. Don’t let it scare you…don’t let it define you.’” Well said. But is the secret sauce of Silicon Valley no longer a big secret?
Next up, Apple’s Bud Tribble, who was introduced by Dan’l Lewin of Microsoft. Dan’l gave us an odd lesson in our A,B,Cs before he got on the crux of the intro: “When Bud speaks, people – like Steve Jobs – listen – and that’s hard!” Dan’l alluded to Apple’s Location-Gate drama, but Bud wisely eschewed the subject, instead enthusing about the special qualities of Silicon Valley. He emphasized the importance of perspectives and how we connect . In Silicon Valley, “the connections go beyond companies – that’s the magic of this place.” As for vision? That all depends on your perspective and he quoted from Alan Kay (the pioneering computer scientist): “Perspective is worth 80 IQ points.” He also took us back to the early days of Apple in the 80’s and described the wide variety of perspectives around the table, including an archeologist and even a Marxist (!) as well as the inevitable computer programmer. Understanding what computers are really good at is key, said Bud. And what is that? Communication. That’s his focus. As for the future, Bud wasn’t giving anything away. True to his solid Apple pedigree, Bud concluded by saying, “I can’t really talk about the future… since I’m at Apple.” A visionary who is keeping his vision tightly under wraps…for the time being.
Later, I asked Bud how Mr. Jobs is doing and if he thinks Jobs is going to come back to the helm on a full time basis. “He finds it hard to stay away,” said Bud. Indeed.
T.J. Rodgers was introduced by Eric Benhamou of Benhamou Ventures and described Rodgers as “a tough boss, argumentative and very competitive,” and added “I’m using polite language here.” The audience was well amused .
Today, we’re presenting the third in our new Lesson Plan Seriesbased on Fresh Dialogues interviews. The series is compiled by Lisa Lubliner, our new Fresh Dialogues Education Expert.
In 2010, Fresh Dialogues produced a video featuring Mark Platshon, a venture capitalist at Vantage Point Capital Partners, one of the leading investors in battery and energy storage innovation. Mark gave a good overview of energy storage, its limits and potential; and explained what venture capitalists are looking for in new storage technologies. Let’s call the VIDEO Batteries 101.
“Throw a dart at (two elements on) the periodic table and you can make a battery out of it…a potato and a penny can make a battery…unfortunately we have a very limited periodic table…(and remember) Moore’s Law doesn’t apply to chemistry!” VC, Mark Platshon
To find out more about batteries and explore a step by step lesson plan about batteries – check out the lesson plan link below:
Why are batteries important to us?
How do batteries work?
How are lithium ion batteries superior to alkaline ones?
How can battery efficiency be improved?
How does battery innovation impact electric cars and the transport sector?
For more videos and interviews with Green Visionary and NYT columnist, Tom Friedman; Nobel Prize winning economist, Paul Krugman; Oceanographer and Titanic discoverer, Robert Ballard et al…check out Fresh Dialogues archives
Today, we’re presenting the second in our new Lesson Plan Series based on Fresh Dialogues interviews. The series is compiled by Lisa Lubliner, our new Fresh Dialogues Education Expert.
Lesson Plan: How to Predict the Future
In 2010, New York Times columnist, Tom Friedman, made some bold predictions in a Fresh Dialogues interview. He predicted that the demand for Clean Energy (solar, wind, biofuels) was going to explode and that if the US government doesn’t invest sufficiently in Clean Energy research, China is going to dominate the Energy Technology industry.
“What do you suppose our standard of living will be like if we don’t dominate the ET industry?” he said. “If the next great solar company is Chinese? If the next great wind companies are Danish? If the next great battery companies are all Japanese?” Read the transcript here.
News analysts, politicians, historians, and scientists all use current information to predict the future and make decisions for acting. Using historical documents, this lesson encourages students to consider: Why do we make predictions about the future? Do predictions help us? If so, how? On what do we base the predictions that we make?
What did historical figures imagine our lives would look like today? How can we make informed predictions about the future? In this lesson, students consider and discuss predictions about life in 2011 that were written in 1931 by prominent thinkers of the day, and then draw on New York Times articles to develop their own predictions about the future.
Today, we are launching a new feature on Fresh Dialogues – lesson plans – to help teachers build captivating ways of educating their students about climate change and the green economy. This is possible thanks to Lisa Lubliner, our new Fresh Dialogues Education Expert. She will be matching some compelling Fresh Dialogues videos with topics such as Green Innovation, Batteries and Storage, Saving Energy at Home and School, and Fuel Cells 101. Check back soon at our Educators Page where we will list lesson plans as they are added. Got ideas for background info and resources? Share them here or on our Facebook Page.
Lesson Plan: Stashing CO2 in Rocks
Carbon Capture and Sequestration
Grades 6-8
In this activity, students will learn more about carbon sequestration by creating a carbonated beverage out of apple juice and dry ice. This experiment illustrates how carbon dioxide can be stored in a substance. Students will compare and contrast the results to determine if liquid carbonation is an effective method for carbon sequestration.
Lesson background
One of the leading causes of global climate change is carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that traps and stores heat from the sun that would normally escape from Earth’s atmosphere into space. Though some heating is beneficial to life on Earth, too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leads to dramatic changes in the Earth’s climate. One important field of research aimed at combating climate change is carbon sequestration. Carbon sequestration is the science of taking carbon dioxide out of the air and storing it away. Scientists have been experimenting with different methods of carbon sequestration through chemical, biological or physical means.
Subject Standards
Subject Matter: Physical Science/Geology National Standards:NS.5-8.1, NS.5-8.2
Source Links
Ira Flatow Science Friday Blog – Check out the excellent Science Friday video that goes with the topic.
Background information and extension activities
Have students view this short Fresh Dialogues video showing Nobel Prize winning economist, Paul Krugman explain the cap and trade system for carbon and why he thinks climate legislation could work. Here’s the interview transcript
About our Fresh Dialogues Education Expert: Lisa Lubliner is a respected and energetic educator with a varied background in teaching and administration. She has worked as a teacher (Moreland District, California – Teacher of the Year), served as a Gifted and Talented Education consultant, evaluated schools for the State of California and created a successful model for Independent Study Programs in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has an extensive background in alternative education and strives to engage students through real-world projects that emphasize critical thinking and the creation of action plans.
