Retired R.I. Supreme Court Justice Robert G. Flanders Jr., chairman of the University of Rhode Island Commission for Innovation and Research, today announced the full roster of national and international leaders who will serve with him on the commission.

...The commission was initially proposed by the R.I. Science and Technology Advisory Council and was formed by the R.I. General Assembly last year.

The [commission] will evaluate research capacity at URI and make recommendations for how the university can grow the size and competitiveness of its research and development programs; produce a larger, better-trained and more science-and-technology oriented work force; and increase the levels of both industry involvement in its research programs and technology transfer/commercialization activities.

The other members of the commission include:

• Carol Grant, a business and civic leader in Rhode Island. Formerly an executive at Textron and Verizon, most recently Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline’s chief of operations.
• Saul Kaplan, executive director of the R.I. Economic Development Corporation and the Carcieri’s executive counselor on economic growth and community development.
• Dr. David Hibbitt, former chairman of Providence-based ABAQUS Inc. (now part of Simulia, a division of Paris-based Dassault Systèmes).
• Lord Alec Broers, a former research scientist at IBM and a pioneer in nanotechnology, who served as head of the engineering department and as vice chancellor of Cambridge University.