Innovation Ahead by IRI

IS 26 Session: 2025 Maurice Holland Award Winner Address

The Holland Award Address will be delivered by the recipients of the 2025 Maurice Holland Award, presented annually by IRI to honor the most outstanding paper published in the prior year’s volume of Research-Technology Management (RTM). Named for IRI’s founder, Maurice Holland, the award recognizes exceptional thought leadership that advances the practice of innovation and industrial research. During this address, this year’s winning authors will present the findings of their award-winning paper, Integrating AI into the Front End of New Product Development [https://iriweb.org/resources/integrating-ai-into-the-front-end-of-new-product-development/], by Tucker Marion, Chelsea Yuan, and Mohsen Moghaddam.

IS 26 Session: Interactive Session: Anticipating Innovation Challenges for the Future

Work with your fellow innovators to identify the key issues that will shape innovation in the near future in this interactive session. Share challenges, solutions, and learn what issues are keeping your peers up at night and what they are doing to address them now.

IS 26 Session: Powering Growth Through Open and Co-Innovation

Learn about Evonik, ENEOS Americas, and NSF’s approach to partnering and venturing – and how co-innovation can accelerate your growth through relationships with traditional and non-traditional partners. You’ll walk away with insights into practical approaches for co-innovation that will drive strategic value, scale new ideas and strengthen the innovation pipeline.

IS 26 Session: Cross-functional Innovation EMD’s Microphysiological Systems Project

This session explores EMD’s new cross‑business initiative centered on Microphysiological Systems (MPS), cutting‑edge in vitro platforms that model human organ function to accelerate drug development and reduce animal testing. Sakshi will discuss how the initiative came to life, the strategies used to align multiple business units, and the practical lessons learned from driving collaboration at scale.

IS 26 Session: Harnessing AI for Real World Impact

Hear how NVIDIA and Lubrizol are using AI to deliver tangible business results—from improving productivity and decision-making to unlocking new revenue and operating models. Learn what it takes to move from pilots to scalable deployments, align AI investments with strategic priorities, and measure impact that matters.