The State of Innovation Summit 2009

Wayne Clough is the 12th secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, leading the world’s largest museum and research complex with 19 museums, nine research centers, the National Zoo and research activities in more than 90 countries. A civil engineer, Clough served as president of the Georgia Institute of Technology for 14 years before coming to the Smithsonian in July 2008.

At the Smithsonian, Clough has initiated a long-range strategic planning process that will define the Smithsonian’s focus for the future. He is working to expand the Smithsonian’s global relevance and help our nation shape its future through research, education, and scientific discovery on major topics of the day. In addition, Clough has initiated plans to digitize many of the 137 million objects in the Smithsonian’s collection, ensuring that these one-of-a-kind specimens and artifacts and their accompanying information are accessible worldwide.

During Clough’s tenure as president of Georgia Tech, research expenditures increased from $212 million to $425 million and student enrollments from 13,000 to 18,000. More than $1.5 billion was raised in private gifts, and campus operations were opened in Savannah, Ga., Ireland, Singapore, and Shanghai. Clough has been a professor at Duke University, Stanford University, and Virginia Tech. He served as head of the department of civil engineering and dean of the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, and as provost at the University of Washington.

In March 2009, Clough was inducted into the Technology Hall of Fame of Georgia, which was established in 1993 to recognize the achievements of outstanding members of Georgia’s technology community. In February 2009, he received the Joseph M. Pettit Alumni Distinguished Service Award that recognizes a lifetime of leadership, achievement, and service to Georgia Tech. Clough received nine national awards from the American Society of Civil Engineers, including the 2004 OPAL lifetime award for contributions to education.

Clough’s civil engineering specialty is in geotechnical and earthquake engineering; his interests include science, technology, and higher-education policy, sustainability, international programs, museums, and history. Clough received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Georgia Tech in 1964 and 1965, and a doctorate in 1969 in civil engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He was born in Douglas, Ga., Sept. 24, 1941.