Innovation is the source of economic prosperity and global progress, simplifying routines and enriching quality of life. The internet has fundamentally altered how the world works, communicates and thinks. The global information revolution has ushered in a new era of global conversations, cooperation and crowd-sourcing among researchers, speeding the spread of new ideas and technologies in every discipline. Researchers race to develop energy alternatives, synthetic biology, transportation improvements, environmental protections or cures for disease. Governments must keep up pace with funding of education and infrastructure as well as regulations on patents, immigration, intellectual property protections and more.