Dr. Diran Soumonni

Dr. Diran Soumonni is a Senior Lecturer in Innovation Management and Policy at WBS. He obtained his PhD in Public Policy from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, US, where he focused on both innovation studies and energy policy. Diran Soumonni’s teaching interests include subject matter on creativity and innovation, techno-preneurship, the strategic management of innovation, and philosophical paradigms in scientific research. His primary research interest lies in the area of innovation for sustainability from both an ecosystemic and a firm-level perspective. Some of his previous publications span subject matter on electricity policy, biofuels policy, nanotechnology policy, and innovation policy and management.

Diran has worked as a materials engineer in the area of research commercialisation of display and energy-efficient lighting technologies. He was part of a team that expanded the business opportunities of a new technology-based firm (NTBF), which was dependent on an enabling ecosystem for its survival and growth, while simultaneously working closely with large LED and display corporations such as Samsung (South Korea), Sumitomo (Japan), Nichia (Japan), among others, to help solve specific technological challenges along the innovation value chain. Diran holds a Master’s degree in materials science and engineering (Georgia Institute of Technology, US) and undergraduate degrees in physics and mathematics (Tuskegee University, US).