Richard Cahoon

Richard Cahoon is an Adjunct Professor in Global Development. He is a practitioner with over three decades of experience in the areas of invention, intellectual property (IP), new technology development and implementation, entrepreneurship/intrapreneurship, and innovation. He has significant experience in management of R&D, invention and IP, partnerships, technology commercialization, venture creation, licensing, business development, negotiation, and mediation.

He has worked on a variety of new technology projects with universities, government agencies, and companies in various countries. His work has included project design and management and high-level advisory and mentoring roles for institutions, ministries, and companies in over twenty-five countries, and the United Nations. He has been an advisor to World Bank, the governments of Qatar, Canada, Thailand, Philippines, Serbia, the State of Michigan, USAID, and the U.S. Department of Commerce, as well as universities, companies, and NGOs in Turkey, Argentina, Chile, Japan, Jamaica, Philippines, South Africa, India, Korea, Bahrain, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Iran, Colombia, Brazil, the US, and the European Union.

Richard has served as an expert in numerous IP litigations and has conducted many IP/technology valuations. His emphasis includes the implications of invention and IP assets for individuals, public sector institutions, and private sector actors that comprise the innovation ecosystem. He is an inventor and a U.S. patentee. He has founded or participated in the creation and launch of numerous start-up companies. He was a Director of Cornell’s IP management/technology transfer office for twenty years. He teaches these several subjects at Cornell, and in numerous webinars and workshops for various institutions around the world.

Research Focus

Professor Cahoon is particularly interested in the study of inventiveness, its consequences for creation of IP assets, and the use of those assets for economic development and the greater public good. His specific technical interests include applied biology and bioprocess engineering systems, and agricultural technologies, including plant breeding. He is active in projects in which inventions and IP are tools to facilitate economic development in developing countries.

He designed and implemented a large, multi-country, multi-year project for the World Intellectual Property Organization that has the goal of fostering economic development in Asian countries by building professional and institutional capacity for invention/IP management and entrepreneurship. He is currently interested in expanding his scope of work to the creative arts and social entrepreneurship. He has recently focused on mechanisms that facilitate invention and IP management and financial investment for global social impact.

Education

• B.A. History, Chemistry, Spanish, University of Utah
• B.A. Political Science & Biology, University of Utah
• M.Sc. Land Rehabilitation (Bioprocess Systems), Montana State University
• Ph.D. Natural Resources, Cornell University

Interests

• Intellectual property management
• Invention & innovation, entrepreneurship & intrapreneurship
• Technology transfer, development & implementation

Courses Taught

Professor Cahoon teaches the Cornell CALS course Invention & IP Management for Practitioners. His professional webinars and workshop topics include inventiveness analysis, IP strategy, technology development and valuation, entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship, and bioproperty management.