![\"David](\"https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/vu-news\/files\/20190606191254\/Dave-Owens-faculty-page.jpg\")
<\/a>David A. Owens<\/a>, a leading thinker on innovation and new product development and Owen Graduate School of Management<\/a> faculty member, has been named the Evans Family Executive Director of the Wond\u2019ry<\/a>.<\/p>\n Owens is a professor of the practice of management and innovation and succeeds Robert Grajewski<\/a>, the Wond\u2019ry\u2019s inaugural director. Grajewski is concluding his three-year term having launched the Wond\u2019ry in 2016 as Vanderbilt University\u2019s center for innovation, creative collaboration, design and entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom day one, Dave Owens has been a key faculty member for Vanderbilt\u2019s cross-disciplinary hub of innovation,\u201d Wente said. \u201cHe helped design the 13,000-square-foot-space and was the first professor to teach there. Dave\u2019s nationally recognized expertise in innovation\u2014along with his commitment for mentoring future innovators\u2014make him the perfect choice to build on the Wondry\u2019s early momentum and development.\u201d<\/p>\n Owens serves as faculty director for the Vanderbilt Accelerator-Summer Business Institute. In addition, he has secondary faculty appointments in the School of Engineering<\/a> as professor of the practice of engineering management, Peabody College of education and human development<\/a> as professor of the practice of teaching and learning, and the School of Medicine<\/a> as associate professor of radiology and radiological sciences.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Wond\u2019ry has quickly become a welcoming, engaging \u2018home\u2019 for many of Vanderbilt\u2019s most innovative and creative students, and I am excited to lead the next phase of this nationally recognized innovation center,\u201d Owens said. \u201cMy goal is to help students, faculty and staff to be more effective innovators by making it easier to find tools, mentors, expertise and insights on innovation practice and design research. We will also increase the Wond\u2019ry\u2019s connections to Vanderbilt\u2019s research centers, while working in close partnership with the Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Companies where Owens has lent his expertise include NASA, the Smithsonian, Nissan, Mars, Wrigley\u2019s, Gibson Music and LEGO. He was a product designer at IDEO, where he did work for Daimler Benz, Apple, Dell, Corning and others. He also served as CEO of Griffin Technology, a consumer electronics firm in the iPhone\/iPad\/iPod accessory market.<\/p>\n Owens joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 1998, after earning his doctorate in management science and engineering through a joint fellowship program between Stanford\u2019s Graduate School of Business and its School of Engineering.<\/p>\n \u201cWe thank Robert Grajewski for his leadership during the launch and formative years of the Wond\u2019ry,\u201d Wente said. \u201cHe has been instrumental in positioning the Wond\u2019ry for future success.\u201d<\/p>\n Key achievements under Grajewski\u2019s leadership include establishing and growing partnerships with corporations including Deloitte, Accenture, IBM and RGP Consulting. Several of these companies support the Innovation Garage program that enables teams of students to work with a faculty mentor and others as they develop \u201cinnovative and disruptive industry solutions\u201d from ideation all the way to prototype.<\/p>\n During 2017-18, the Wond\u2019ry won a five-year, $500,000 National Science Foundation grant, in collaboration with the Vanderbilt Institute in Surgery and Engineering, to become an Innovation Corps site\u2014marking Vanderbilt as one of the premier academic institutions nationwide that nurture entrepreneurship.\u00a0In addition, it secured award funding from VentureWell for PostFlight, a flagship entrepreneur education program, and has welcomed over 50,000 visitors since its opening.<\/p>\n The Wond\u2019ry\u2019s achievements under Grajewski were recognized at this year\u2019s Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers conference, where the Wond\u2019ry was selected as Outstanding Emerging Entrepreneurship Center.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have made significant progress in strengthening creativity and forging a stronger maker culture across campus,\u201d Grajewski said. \u201cI have been fortunate to work with Vanderbilt students, faculty and the Wond\u2019ry staff, and am proud of the foundation we have laid for future growth.\u201d<\/p>\n Owens\u2019 three-year appointment at the Wond\u2019ry will begin July 1. Learn more about the Wond\u2019ry\u2019s resources and opportunities for engagement here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/vu-news\/files\/20190417222822\/Grajewski_Robert-193x250.jpg\")