Innovate New Jersey

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I N N O V A T E

N E W

J E R S E Y

NEW JERSEY, THE INSPIRED INNOVATION GARDEN THE ROOTS OF GLOBAL INNOVATION: PLANTED RIGHT HERE IN THE GARDEN STATE It is marvelous that such a small state is blessed with four physiographic formations: the Appalachian Mountains in the northwest and coastal plains to the south and east, and the intersecting highlands and rolling slopes of the Piedmont in between. Nature’s diversity, inspiration, and rejuvenation is close to metropolitan humanity. It’s one of the reasons that the roots of global R&D and innovation flourish here. In 1920, the leaders of world renown Bell Labs, decided to move to a bucolic setting in the hills of New Jersey “to get away from the congestion and environmental distractions of New York City.” Perhaps that’s why Edison established the world’s first research and development lab in the Menlo Park community of Edison which has been ranked as one of “America’s 10 Best Places to Grow Up” thanks to low crime, strong schools, green spaces, and an abundance of recreational activities. New Jersey first got its humble nickname in 1876 when Abraham Browning of Camden spoke at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Perhaps borrowing from Ben Franklin, he said, “Our Garden State is an immense barrel, filled with good things to eat and open at both ends, with Pennsylvanians grabbing from one end and New Yorkers from the other.” It’s true that the Garden State’s dairy farms, fields, and fisheries nourished two of the world’s great cities. But humble New Jersey also generously shares its good fruits with the entire world. These fruits are the foundational innovations that built the transformational industries of the late 20th century and today’s emerging technologies that connect us, make us productive, heal us, and move our lives and possibilities forward. The innovators in this book are inspired planters, a highly diverse and collaborative community of the world’s most curious minds, who live, work, and play right here in the Garden State to make our world a better place.

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