With all eyes and headlights focused on the Detroit Auto Show this week, Michigan State University President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D., sat down with former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg for a fireside chat about the future of electric vehicle, or EV, research, government partnerships and university research during Media and Industry days.
The conversation, which took place at noon on Jan. 14, was part of the show’s Mobility Global Forum and was held on the main stage surrounded by the latest car models as well as a sneak peek of the cars of the future.
“We sit in the center of the global mobility transition,” said Guskiewicz, “And right now, that transition feels both urgent yet unstable — from EVs, batteries and autonomous systems, there’s intense global competition.”
Guskiewicz asked Buttigieg what needs to happen for the U.S. to hold and strengthen our position and leadership in the advanced mobility research and development sector.
“We are living in the most transformational moment for transportation since the combustion engine was developed,” said Buttigieg. “The question is, what are we going to do in that moment, and who is going to lead it?”
Buttigieg explained the idea of a three-part handshake connecting industry, academia and government where all three of these areas need to work together and support each other from the evolution of technology to developing new policies.
“People talk about whether innovation will come from government or whether it will come from industry and, in reality, industry is so good at taking technologies, developing them and bringing them to market,” said Buttigieg. “What has worked so well for America is to have this relationship where universities develop ideas, often with federal support, and they develop it to the point that industry can pick it up and run them.”
The conversation between Guskiewicz and Buttigieg also focused on ways the government can support university research beyond funding.
“When you have a technology that is ultimately more advanced, policymakers cannot just put the toothpaste back into the tube,” said Buttigieg. “I see the innovation, the determination, the dedication of us, automakers and their teams, their workers and their leaders and, they deserve policymakers who have their back.”
Guskiewicz expanded on this as he spoke about convergence science and the role of higher education.
“It’s going to work best when we bring together engineers, economists, planners, computer scientists and policymakers working together,” said Guskiewicz. “Over 1.2 million jobs in our state are tied to the automotive sector, and business leaders like Bill Ford, the executive chair of Ford Motor Company, are counting on America’s leading research universities like MSU to help solve the problem and to help retool the current workforce, while also preparing the younger and next generation.”
Buttigieg also highlighted the importance of higher education and challenged researchers to continue to do research that makes a difference in people’s daily lives.
“The university is probably the most consequential invention of the human species because it makes so many other things possible,” said Buttigieg. “The role of higher education is not just to produce educated workers, but to produce prepared citizens. But academia also has a responsibility to show itself to be interested in things that are relevant to people.”
As Guskiewicz wants to prepare MSU students to be the next generation of workers for jobs that don’t even exist yet, he asked Buttigieg about the future of workforce development.
“The most important thing is to invest in forms and ways of knowledge that are flexible and adaptable,” said Buttigieg. “If we keep trying to chase one narrow skill set or one industry at a time, we may miss an opportunity to equip workers as well as citizens to be ready for whatever changes are going to come when they do have to make a big career change.”
During his visit to the Detroit Auto Show, Guskiewicz also walked the showroom floor, test drove new 2026 car models and stopped by to visit students from MSU’s College of Engineering Baja racing team who were presenting as part of the Society of Automotive Engineers’ booth.
The conversation was covered by USA Today via the Detroit Free Press and Yahoo Autos.
