Silicon Valley is unique in the world as a region of scientific and technological innovation. States throughout the U.S. and countries across the world have attempted to duplicate the Valley’s success, only to fail to meet their objectives. What are the characteristics of this region that make innovation so prevalent? Here in South Korea, innovation has been seen as one of the most important economic missions of the entire country. Yet, there remain strong doubts about the country’s innovation infrastructure. Danny’s Fulbright research assumes two controversial points: that creativity is in everyone, and that innovation is fundamentally about people and not institutions. His research began with the training of engineers at KAIST, and has expanded into issues of urban planning, design thinking, creativity, and labor economics. His presentation will weave these disparate threads together to build a novel approach to creating innovation through policy.

Biography:

Danny Crichton has been immersed in innovation and technology for his entire life. He graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. in Mathematical and Computational Science, and has worked at CollabRx, a medical software start-up, the Central Intelligence Agency, and Google. He has submitted six patents to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. His research agenda focuses on the development of regional innovation hubs and the sociology of innovators.