Jonathan Cagan

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Jonathan Cagan is the David and Susan Coulter Head of Mechanical Engineering and George Tallman and Florence Barrett Ladd Professor in Mechanical Engineering, with courtesy appointment in the School of Design, at Carnegie Mellon University. Globally known for his rigorous and effective approach to product innovation, Cagan works extensively in research on innovation processes and tools, teaching and leading innovation teams, corporate consulting, and speaking engagements on the topic of innovation. 

With a focus on product strategy and innovation, Cagan has worked with a variety of companies ranging from Fortune 100 to entrepreneurial start-ups such as Apple, P&G, GlaxoSmithKline, RedZone Robotics, Navistar International Truck, and Nissan. Cagan is co-founder of Placenta AI, LLC.

Cagan’s research on design automation and methods, problem solving, and medical technologies merges AI, machine learning, and optimization methods with cognitive- and neuro-science problem solving.  His current research focuses on human-AI teaming, generative design, and medical diagnostics.  

Cagan co-founded the Integrated Innovation Institute at Carnegie Mellon. Cagan is co-author of four books on innovation: Creating Breakthrough Products, The Design of Things to Come, Built to Love, and his new book co-authored with Peter Boatwright, Managing the Unmanageable. 

Cagan is a Member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Cagan has been awarded the ASME Computers and Information in Engineering Division Lifetime Achievement, Design Theory and Methodology, Design Automation, and Ruth and Joel Spira Outstanding Design Educator Awards. Cagan serves as co-Editor-in-Chief of Design Science Journal. A registered Professional Engineer, Cagan received his PhD from UC Berkeley, and has been on the faculty at CMU since 1990.