Innovation collaboration on dual-use with Stanford
- Post by: Tobias Larsson
- 9th April 2026
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Laila Adelson is a visiting researcher at the Center for Design Research (CDR) at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.
My research focuses on innovation processes in dual-use, that is, innovation in both civilian and military applications. The focus of my research is on the early decision-making phase, what actually happens in a team from the time a problem is identified to the time a solution is found.
Dual-use innovation is much more established in Silicon Valley than in Europe, and Stanford is one of the few environments in the world where this field is studied and practiced on a large scale. It is an innovation landscape characterized by a culture that encourages exploration and a widespread pay it forward mentality, which makes it a unique place to conduct research.
By following courses and seminars at CDR, observing student projects in product development and interviewing people in the dual-use field, I collect empirical evidence that forms the basis for a new framework and methodology, Triple-Use by Design (TUbD), where civilian, military and sustainable benefits are integrated into the design process from the beginning rather than being handled afterwards. It is a relatively unexplored area internationally, and the goal is to develop something concrete and adapted to the Swedish context.
The stay at Stanford extends until the summer of 2026.
Feel free to reach out to me to talk innovation and dual-use!
/Laila
More info
- Laila is a PhD student with BTH, funded by the The Knowledge Foundation’s Jubilee Doctoral Students programme. Supervisors are Professor Tobias Larsson, Deputy Vice-Chancellor/Senior Lecturer in Engineering Jenny Elfsberg, and Professor Marco Bertoni.
- BTH are member of Nordic Innovation House Silicon Valley.
- Stanford CDR has been a longterm partner with BTH PDRL and doing ME310 projects for years.
- Adelson, L., Elfsberg, J., Larsson, T., & Gustafsson, I. (2025). Triple-Use Innovation : Embedding Sustainability into Civil-Military Innovation. ISPIM Connects : Event Proceedings. Presented at the ISPIM Connects Yokohama – Yokohama, Japan on 1-3 December 2025. Retrieved from https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-28976