To succeed in the global economy, information technology companies must share information within the industry without sacrificing their competitive edge, David McQueeney '80, chief technological officer of IBM's federal division, said in a Friday lecture at the Thayer School of Engineering. Technological development is becoming increasingly difficult, McQueeney said, so the industry's progress depends on constant research and global access to information.
Modern technology is so advanced, McQueeney said, that creating new products is becoming increasingly difficult for technology companies.
"The core of new computer architecture is that for years we've made computers smaller, better and cheaper by shrinking transistors," he said. "Now, we're at the point where the transistor you want to make is smaller than the atoms you use to make it."
Such innovation, which McQueeney described as a "combination of invention and insight," does not require companies to hide information from competitors, he said."It's not about being secret," he said. "Staying ahead means you just run faster than they do."
During the lecture, McQueeney also discussed his work at IBM and his efforts to understand the needs of his clients -- including the U.S. armed forces and other federal agencies and departments -- and provide those clients with systems and services that meet those needs.
"They are truly solving some of the hardest technological problems that we know of," he said, referring to his clients' efforts to find cost-effective solutions to problems in finance, defense and homeland security.
Many of these problems, he said, include constructing efficient and effective weapons systems. Rather than recommending that the armed forces contact general weapons suppliers, as the government has in the past, McQueeney suggested they use specialized companies to meet their IT needs because companies specifically focused on IT production can create more advanced and better functioning technology, he said.
"In real life, when the bullets start flying, [the military uses] what works," he said. "Our job is to find out how to let them do that in a way that makes some sense."
To that end, McQueeney said, IBM devotes 10 percent of its research and development budget to theoretical research, rather than applied research, and employs more than 3,000 technical professionals in the division.
"Our best play is to contribute something valuable to the market," McQueeney said. "It's about taking technological insight and turning it into value creation for our customers. That's our main goal."
McQueeney said he wished he had taken more advantage of the research opportunities at Dartmouth while he was a student.
"If I had one regret about the time I spent here, it's that even as a physics major I didn't spend enough time down here at the Thayer School," he said.
McQueeney joined IBM's research division in 1988 and has served as vice president of communication technology, vice president of technical strategy and worldwide operations, and director of the company's research laboratory in Zurich, Switzerland. His seminar was the series' first of the new year, according to engineering professor Ursula Gibson '76.
The lecture was part of the Thayer School of Engineering's Jones Seminar Series, which brings science professionals to Thayer to cover a range of "big picture" topics about science and technology's relationship with society, according to the series' web site. The seminars occur every Friday afternoon and are open to the public.
