(upbeat music) - We're now joined by Dr.

Thierry Klein, President of Bell Labs Solutions Research at Nokia.

Good to see you, Dr.

Klein.

- Thank you for having me, Steve, my pleasure.

- Now, help us understand this, Bell Labs, explain Bell Labs, and then the Nokia connection, please.

- Yeah, absolutely.

So, Bell Labs is the research part of Nokia.

We actually have 100-year history.

We're celebrating 100 years of Bell Labs this year in 2025.

And now, through different mergers, acquisitions, in the telecom industry, we are now part of Nokia, but we are the research part of Nokia, so we're looking at one, two generations out of Nokia's product services solutions.

And how do we innovate for the market and the industry that Nokia is in right now, the current businesses, but also potential future business opportunities.

So really thinking two, five, 10 years out into the future.

-For those who don't understand the HELIX in New Brunswick, connect what it is to why you and your team are there.

- So we are currently in Murray Hill, New Jersey.

That's the headquarters of Bell Labs.

That's historically where we've been since the early '40s.

That's where a lot of the great innovations, Steve, that you, I, everybody has in their pockets every day, where a lot of those great innovations have happened.

But a couple of years ago, we decided that we needed to move, we needed to upgrade our facilities.

We needed to be more connected to the ecosystem of partners, collaborators.

And so we looked at what we would do with the campus, whether we would renovate or upgrade the current campus, or we'd go somewhere else.

And then we looked quite extensively in the tri-state area, and then we found the HELIX.

And through the partnership with Chris Paladino, which is fantastic, we decided to move to New Brunswick starting in 2027.

So we're building a brand new research facility at the HELIX.

- Let's do this.

One of the biggest themes in innovation, discovery, innovation is about collaboration, partnership.

What does it mean in your view?

And I'm a student of leadership.

And collaboration is a huge part of being a good leader.

Dr.

Klein, help us understand, you've said that collaboration is a mindset.

What does that mean?

- Well, I think it's a mindset, believing that others have ideas that are better than yours.

Others have ideas that complement your ideas.

And the problems that we're facing today and that we want to solve through technology are very complex problems.

And there's not a single person, there's not a single department, there's not a single organization that has potentially all the ideas, or all the tools and the capabilities to solve that problem in the most meaningful, most disruptive, most optimal way.

So we believe inside Bell Labs, we pride ourselves on being a multidisciplinary research organization.

But then outside of Bell Labs, we also want that inspiration.

What are the problems that we should be solving?

But what are the ideas that other people have?

What are the technologies and capabilities they bring, so the overall solution that we're coming up with is the best possible answer.

- I'm curious about this, because innovators, inventors, people who discover things.

We often mythologize or think of them as they're sitting in the room, they're by themselves, they have these great ideas.

Steve Jobs sits down and draws something, and "Oh, that's it!

That's right, it'll be the iPhone!"

Meaning people do it alone.

They don't, doctor, do they?

- No, I don't think they do.

I think maybe you have a spark that starts with one person, but then how do you go from that initial spark, that initial idea?

How do you actually create the invention?

How do you take practical considerations into account?

How do you build a solution that is scalable, that addresses some of the real world complexities that you might face?

I can invent something in the lab, but then the real world is more complex.

I may need to tweak it.

I may need to add capabilities to it.

And eventually I want to prototype it.

I want to validate that it actually works.

I need to put it in a real world environment to demonstrate that I've actually solved the problem that I wanted to solve.

So I think it is ultimately an ecosystem of ideas and partners, and maybe I have the spark, but maybe it's through a conversation with you that I come to that spark.

So I really think you want to have an ecosystem of different people with different backgrounds, different ideas, different perspectives.

- And that ecosystem, as we have had conversations with Chris Paladino about this.

By the way, go on our website and look, put in Chris Paladino previous interviews.

We've talked about this.

So here's what I'm really curious about, doctor.

The HELIX in New Brunswick, the vision is to have all these thinkers, all these innovators, all these creative people come together, and frankly create, produce, innovate, discover in a way that they can never do alone, as you said.

But there's a human component that I'm curious about here, 'cause AI is not gonna fix or solve everything.

Those who think it will, that's another story.

We're dealing with human beings, so here's the question.

How the heck do we fight against the temptation of ego, turf, it's mine, it's my patent, it's my name, it's my company, versus we, versus the I. Am I making too much of that, doctor?

- No, I think you're right.

But I think I would bring it back to what is the problem that we're trying to solve?

And I think it's, - Or, give us an example.

Give us an example.

- Well, I think if you want to solve the... Pick any industry that we have in New Jersey, pharmaceutical, right?

Or energy, or logistics, transportation.

It's not just about the domain-specific knowledge.

But now you're bringing communication, networking technologies in to connect all the different, say assets in the transportation system.

You're trying to bring in AI capabilities.

You're trying to bring in the human factors of how people interact with the systems and machines and the digitalization we bring to this industry.

So you come up with some ideas, but not everybody has all the capabilities.

And I think it's really through experimentation, talking to people, bringing your ideas.

But sometimes you have to give before you take.

And I think that's also a part of the mindset that you're saying, I have something that I can contribute.

I'm not necessarily expecting you to give me more back, but I'm willing to give something in.

I'm sharing what my ideas are.

And by being open and transparent that this is what I can contribute, let's work together.

But yeah, it is challenging.

Everybody will have intellectual property considerations.

Everybody will have commercial considerations.

But that's where I think when you're at the forefront of innovation and research, that's when these considerations come in a little bit later.

But at the beginning, you really want to think, what are the fundamental problems we want to solve of our generation?

What are the big technology challenges of our generation that we need to address?

Whether it's in any of the industry sectors, whether it's in healthcare, whether it's in energy, in climate change, in any - - Or manufacturing?

- Or manufacturing, logistics, any of the different technology areas or industry sectors.

- It does not happen alone.

It cannot happen alone.

I wanna thank the folks at the HELIX for helping us do that and introducing us to folks like you, Dr.

Klein.

We appreciate it.

All the best.

- Absolutely, thank you.

Thanks, Steve.

- I know you'll keep collaborating with other really smart people.

Stay with us.

We'll be right back.

- [Narrator] One-On-One with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by EJI, Excellence in Medicine Awards.

The Russell Berrie Foundation.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

New Brunswick Development Corporation.

Johnson & Johnson.

The New Jersey Education Association.

Community FoodBank of New Jersey.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

And by NJM Insurance Group.

Promotional support provided by ROI-NJ.

And by Insider NJ.

- The EJI Excellence in Medicine Awards was established in 1939, shining a light on New Jersey's health care leaders.

Current awards include the Excellence in Medicine, Research, Medical, Education and Community Service.

EJI also funds annual scholarships to medical, dental, pharmaceutical and physician assistant students throughout the state.

Learn more at EJIAwards.org.