Dan Goods
Innovator, Designer and Expert in Creative Solutions
SPEAKER FEE RANGE: $11,000–$17,000 [FEE NOTE]
TRAVELS FROM: California
Drilling a hole into a grain of sand, creating a pipe organ out of soda pop bottles and coordinating people around the world to signal to a spacecraft flying past Earth on its way to Jupiter, is all in a day’s work. Despite low grades and little direction early in life, Dan Goods found his passion and created a dream position at one of the most prestigious science and engineering institutions in the world—NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Between his work at JPL and his own large-scale art projects around the world, Dan creates experiences that are beautiful, meaningful and profound. He recently received an International Design Excellence Award and was named “One of the Most Interesting People in Los Angeles” by LA Weekly. A gifted speaker, he uses humor and an unpretentious and approachable style to share his unusual journey, giving insight into multidisciplinary collaborations, creativity, passion and what it means to be human.
Dan Goods was born in Palmer, Alaska and was raised in Salem, Oregon. Growing up he had no interest in art or design, or much of anything else besides creating a newsletter for his fantasy football league. By a twist of fate, a friend could see Goods’ interest and suggested that he look into art schools, at which point Goods scoffed. However, when he got home, Goods found a postcard on his bed from an art school and decided he should look into the idea. A few years later, Goods graduated valedictorian from the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, while at the same time having a baby right before his final semester.
While studying at the Art Center, he received a fellowship to work at the California Institute of Technology, a science heavyweight and consistently rated as one of the top 3 schools in the world. There he developed a love for the big ideas and questions about humanity that scientists grapple with every day and decided that he wanted to work at a research center. After school, he had the amazing opportunity to create his own job at NASA’s famed Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he is now a visual strategist. He runs a creative studio, working on everything from art pieces that speak to the incredible discoveries that NASA makes, to working with their visionaries to help them brainstorm the missions of the future. His projects are seen in public spaces, art museums and are in outer space.
Goods has his own studio where he collaborates on personal creative projects around the world. He won an International Design Excellence Award for his work on the eCLOUD which is a 110-foot-long digital sculpture at the San Jose International Airport. He has worked on other large-scale art projects at the Atlanta International Airport, at SIAS International University in China and for BMW in Paris. He has shown his work in museums around the world.
Goods was named “One of the Most Interesting People in Los Angeles” by LA Weekly and has been profiled in The Los Angeles Times, FORTUNE magazine, Leonardo magazine and the National Endowment for the Arts Magazine. He is also on the board of the Caltech Management Association and ITACCUS (International Astronautical Federation’s Technical Activities Committee for the Cultural Utilization of Space), and is an advisor to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Art and Technology program.
While studying at the Art Center, he received a fellowship to work at the California Institute of Technology, a science heavyweight and consistently rated as one of the top 3 schools in the world. There he developed a love for the big ideas and questions about humanity that scientists grapple with every day and decided that he wanted to work at a research center. After school, he had the amazing opportunity to create his own job at NASA’s famed Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he is now a visual strategist. He runs a creative studio, working on everything from art pieces that speak to the incredible discoveries that NASA makes, to working with their visionaries to help them brainstorm the missions of the future. His projects are seen in public spaces, art museums and are in outer space.
Goods has his own studio where he collaborates on personal creative projects around the world. He won an International Design Excellence Award for his work on the eCLOUD which is a 110-foot-long digital sculpture at the San Jose International Airport. He has worked on other large-scale art projects at the Atlanta International Airport, at SIAS International University in China and for BMW in Paris. He has shown his work in museums around the world.
Goods was named “One of the Most Interesting People in Los Angeles” by LA Weekly and has been profiled in The Los Angeles Times, FORTUNE magazine, Leonardo magazine and the National Endowment for the Arts Magazine. He is also on the board of the Caltech Management Association and ITACCUS (International Astronautical Federation’s Technical Activities Committee for the Cultural Utilization of Space), and is an advisor to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Art and Technology program.
- Seeing the Unseen
There are many things in the universe that exist, but cannot be seen with human eyes. This applies to the physical world as well as it does to politics, your business or your personal future. These thoughts have made an impact on Dan Goods life and work. Dan will share his remarkable artwork that brings you closer to an invisible world you never knew, while at the same time sharing his personal story of creating a career that did not formerly exist. With humor and grace, Dan distills complex and weighty concepts into stories that can be universally understood. Through his presentation, you will see that sometimes new technology is needed to see the invisible, but sometimes you just need a new perspective.
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