David Owens second guest on ‘The Zeppos Report’


A leading thinker on innovation and creativity who was the first faculty member to teach at the Wond’ry sits down for a wide-ranging discussion with Vanderbilt University Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos on the second episode of The Zeppos Report podcast.

The Zeppos Report features Vanderbilt faculty, students, staff and alumni as well as other engaging individuals on topics that range from politics to pop culture. Podcasts will be lightly produced so that listeners feel like they are at the table.

David Owens, professor of the practice of management and innovation at the Owen Graduate School of Management, shares insights on everything from lessons learned by students working in makerspaces at the Wond’ry to his own consulting for prominent companies around the globe.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to sit down with some of the amazingly talented people who work on our campus and in the community and to share their diverse areas of expertise and opinions with our listeners,” Zeppos said.

Students in one of Owens’ popular classes, “New Product Design and Development,” recently collaborated with the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt to develop real-world solutions for areas of need.

Owens, who helped design the Wond’ry, has faculty appointments in the School of Engineering, where he is professor of the practice of engineering management, and the School of Medicine, where he is an associate professor of radiology and radiological sciences. He earned his doctorate in management science and engineering through a joint fellowship program between Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and its School of Engineering.

Owens was among the first Vanderbilt professors to teach a massive open online course, or MOOC, when Vanderbilt pioneered these classes on the platform Coursera in 2013. During his conversation with the chancellor, Owens reflects on some of the challenges during the early days of the MOOCs, like making his own teleprompter. He also talks about a few design projects he does for fun, such as making beer at home.

New episodes of The Zeppos Report will be posted regularly during the academic year.

The podcast is currently available on SoundCloud, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes and The Zeppos Report webpage.

L-r: David Owens was interviewed by Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos for “The Zeppos Report.” (Susan Urmy/Vanderbilt)