Krisztina Holly

It’s no wonder that, when USC decided to establish an institute dedicated to transforming new ideas into tangible societal impact, Krisztina “Z” Holly was chosen to lead the way.

“True innovation is absolutely crucial to our future global competitiveness as a nation, and to the well-being and improved quality of life for people worldwide,” said Holly. “Our aim is make USC the leading university for innovation by nurturing an environment where innovators thrive.”

Holly’s career as an innovator began during her undergraduate days, when she worked on a team that developed the world’s first computer-generated, full-color reflection hologram at the MIT Media Lab. Soon after, she designed a robotic weld-seam-tracking program for the NASA space shuttle’s main engine and co-designed and built a head-eye robot for use in vision research. In 1991, she and two teammates invented and patented “The Stylus,” a pre-Web electronic shopping tool. They also wrote a business plan for it that won MIT’s campus-wide entrepreneurial competition. The resulting company, Stylus Innovation, created a new windows development tool, called Visual Voice, which revolutionized the computer telephony industry.

After two and a half years in science documentary production, Holly – who holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from MIT – joined start-up search engine Direct Hit Technologies, which was acquired by Ask Jeeves for $500 million in 2000.

Holly later returned to her alma mater to serve as founding director of MIT’s Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation. There, she headed a program that engaged more than 250 faculty and students and more than 100 investors and entrepreneurs, supported more than 50 projects and spawned nine startup companies that raised $40 million from top-tier venture capital firms – all in its first three years.

As executive director of the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation (USC Stevens), Holly is charged with helping the University of Southern California’s innovators – across all disciplines, from engineering and the sciences to the social sciences and the arts – make an impact on our world with their ideas. “If we can help cure a disease, slow climate change or even make people’s lives happier or more convenient,” said Holly, “then that would be a huge win.”