As an undergraduate, Stephen Forrest threw a dart at a map to determine the site of his doctorate. It guided the then University of California, Berkeley, physics undergraduate to the University of Michigan to get his PhD studying magnetism. But it was his next major career decision — to accept a position at Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey, on the development end of the R&D spectrum — that steered him towards the intersection of academia and industry.

Working in development gave Forrest practical training in systems design and economics: “I was becoming an engineer without my knowing it,” he says. At Bell Labs he developed the first practical indium gallium arsenide detector, still used in fibre-optic systems today. After six years, however, he started to get restless for academia and found a natural fit at the electrophysics department at the University of Southern California. There, he became director of the National Center for Integrated Photonic Technology, a research consortium between five universities including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Princeton, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

But the pull of industry would return. Forrest met Greg Olson, then a friendly competitor at RCA labs. Olson — now best known for being the third space tourist — approached Forrest to start a company called Epitaxx. Uninterested in business management, Forrest agreed, instead, to consult. “I've had opportunities to become CEOs and presidents of companies, but never considered giving up the freedom of thought in academia,” he says.

Olson wanted Forrest closer to his New Jersey-based operations and so he took it upon himself to submit Forrest's resumé for the directorship of Princeton University's Center for Photonics and Optoelectronic Materials (POEM). Building on POEM's charter to work with industry, Forrest crafted the first agreements allowing company engineers to work at POEM facilities.

Now he's returning to Michigan in a new capacity — vice-president for research. He is already working on significant initiatives, most notably in energy, aiming to foster more academic-industry collaborations there.

Forrest credits the calibre of his collaborations, notably with Olson and chemist Mark Thompson, as the secret to his success. “You have to bring together skills in today's world,” he says. “Take the time to teach each other.”