I'm here with Chris Wood
who is director of SFI's Business Network.

Hi Mel.
Hi Chris! Good to see you.

Good to see you too.
So, tell us what the Business Network is.

The Business Network is a corporate affiliates program
like many others that you find at major universities

and other institutions of research and higher education,

but our Business Network is an affiliates program
like none other.

It brings together fundamental science
and scientists interested in

fundamental science at the Institute
together with important business questions

brought to us by network members.

And you might ask yourself, "How can you
possibly imagine that fundamental questions

like the organization of nature and society
would have bearing on business problems,

and you'd be amazed at how frequently
and how deeply that set of interactions

turns out to be valuable to our...
to our network members.

And... what kinds of activities
does the Business Network do?

We organize with our members - co-organize,
each year, a set of 6 to 8 topical meetings

that bring together SFI scientists
and scientists from other institutions

together to work with our
Business Network members

on topics that they find
interesting and important.

We worry about innovation,

we've had meetings on big data,

we have meetings every year in New York
on risk, particularly as it applies to the

financial system, but risk, more...
more generally, Nate Silver, whose name

you now know is quite famous
after the last elections, was a speaker

at our risk meeting in New York two years
ago long before he became famous.

So that's a good example of the breadth and depth

of the kind of activities that
the topical meetings involve .

Mm-hmm. So I know your area was originally
neuroscience, and do you feel like

you're now acting as a bridge between the
scientific community and the broader

business community?

Well, part of my job as the director
of the Business Network is to provide

exactly that kind of bridge. The bridge
is a great metaphor; I also use a different

one at times as a broker between the
scientific ideas of the Institute and the

questions and problems that businesses
and government bring.

All right! Thank you, Chris! It's been
great talking to you.

My pleasure, Mel. Thank you.