Speakers see N.E. handling fiscal crisis

Ideas Boston points up region's strengths

Harvard geochemist Daniel Schrag said serious global warming is already inevitable, but advanced biomass energy and clean coal technology could provide a new source of nonpolluting energy. (David L. Ryan/Globe Staff)

As the global financial crisis starts to hit the local economy, Boston and the region can draw strength from a reservoir of intellectual talent and history of innovation, attendees at the fourth annual Ideas Boston conference were told yesterday.

"Time and again, Boston and New England have reinvented themselves, overcoming challenges with technological advances, new business models, and new industries," said Eric Rosengren, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, which hosted the event.

Rosengren said the region is well positioned to weather the current crisis with its "wonderful melting pot provided by a combination of world class universities, technological leaders in areas such as life sciences, and asset managers who can help fund important projects."

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said hard times can spur innovation for both government and business.

"I always say to my staff that these very difficult economic times are the best time to be in government," Menino said. "You can be more creative. You can do more with less."

The daylong conference, started by The Boston Globe in 2005 and now sponsored by 20 organizations including the Globe, brings together leading thinkers from area academic institutions, businesses, and nonprofit organizations.

Sixteen speakers included artists, scientists, an economist, architect, constitutional scholar, and photojournalist. Tom Ashbrook, host of the National Public Radio and WBUR radio show "On Point," moderated the event.

"Innovation often comes from the fringes of a field and from crossing fields," said conference director Kathryn Plazak.

The hope that innovation can overcome economic challenges confronting the region and the world was a recurring theme.

Dr. David W. Rattner of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, described his pioneering work in noninvasive surgery, which he said could help to keep the region at the leading edge of medical technology.

Another recurring topic was the twin crises of energy and the environment. Daniel Schrag, a Harvard University geochemist, said serious global warming already is inevitable. But the combination of advanced biomass energy and clean coal technology could provide an important new source of nonpolluting energy.

Architect Sheila Kennedy spoke about her work to develop flexible photovoltaic materials, which function like curtains over a window, but generate enough electricity to charge a cellphone or light a room. She said the materials are being used in the Portable Light Project, which her Boston architectural firm, KVA MATx, has developed to bring power to rural Mexico and other areas that do not have access to an electric grid.

Robert Preer can be reached at preer@globe.com.