“The experiments we’re undertaking today will lead to an all-new model of transportation and mobility within the next 10 years and beyond.”
—Mark Fields, president and CEO, Ford Motor Co.

Mark Fields delivered those somewhat prophetic words at the official grand opening of Ford’s Research and Innovation Center (RIC) in January of this year, and Ford wasted no time in getting the innovation ball rolling. One key step was coaxing Ken Washington away from Lockheed Martin Space Systems, where he served as vice president of the Space Technology Advanced Research and Development Laboratories. Washington was appointed vice president of Research and Advanced Engineering at Ford in August 2014.

The RIC, located in California’s Silicon Valley, is the hub of the automaker’s Smart Mobility plan and served as the host facility for this year’s Ford Trend conference, where I was able to speak with Washington about Ford’s Mobility Plan.

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