Cary Bates, master inventor and senior software engineer at IBM, is scheduled to give the first NDSU College of Engineering and Architecture Distinguished Speaker Series presentation on Oct. 24 at 3 p.m. in the Memorial Union Century Theater.

Bates holds 260 U.S. patents and was awarded a certificate of commendation from former Minn. Gov. Arne Carlson for his contributions to the state’s economy and welfare. He has served on invention review boards and has helped numerous groups and individuals become more innovative.

The presentation will discuss what innovation is, and provide insights into the innovative process. Topics will include how to become innovative, how innovative people think, why diversity aids innovation and how to know when you have an invention.

Prior to IBM, Bates worked for the Special Purpose Processor Development group at Mayo Clinic. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Bemidji State University and a master’s degree in information technology from the University of Minnesota. His educational focus was computer languages and compiler construction. Bates’ focus at IBM is debugger technology.

Faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students, F-M community members and anyone who has an interest in innovation are invited to attend the presentation. Future series presentations will feature a variety of topics.