GE Innovator Doug Dietz will speak at May Commencement

Innovator, TED talk presenter, and facilitator of design thinking - Dietz will speak to the Class of 2016 and receive an honorary degree.

Douglas P. Dietz, whose TED talk introduced the creative process he pioneered at GE Healthcare to a broader audience, will speak at Mount Mary University's commencement and receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters on Saturday, May 14.

Doug began his career at Texas Instruments as part of its Corporate Innovation Team. While at Texas Instruments he earned numerous patents for his work on advanced concepts including the first flatbed scanner, laptop computer, and the TI/90 calculator line.

Doug joined GE in 1989. Over the past 27 years Doug has designed products in all of the healthcare imaging modalities: MRI, CT, X-Ray and Ultrasound. He received an EDISON Innovation Award for Social Impact and the Children's National Medical Center Innovation awardfor his work on the GE Pediatric Adventure Series TM- transforming the traumatic scan room into a child friendly experience- CT/Pirate adventure, MRI/ Space odyssey, X-Ray/ Submarine expedition. In his time at GE, Doug has compiled eight Utility Patents and 23 Design Patents.



Doug is currently Lead Innovation Architect for two key GE design incubators. He facilitates creative workshops (design thinking) with GE customer and as an instructor at Stanford University. Dietz is a member of the Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA).

In 2013, Doug personally trained over 35 community members from Mount Mary in this creative thinking process. Based on this experience, Mount Mary developed its own design thinking workshops and over 100 employees have gone through these workshops. Design thinking has been adapted and applied in various courses as well as throughout administrative areas.

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“Doug’s passion for making the world a better place has impacted the lives of children and families, making stressful medical situations less so. He also has planted the seeds of creativity at Mount Mary, which continue to bear the fruits of innovation and social change,” said Mount Mary President Eileen Schwalbach, Ph.D.

The Commencement ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 14, 2016, in the Bloechl Center. A total of 223 students are graduating from Mount Mary University this week.



Related links:

  • Beyond graduation - additional photos and stories around commencement
  • Update your information - alumnae stay in touch