Dick Co is a scientist, educator, and startup founder who believes in the power of entrepreneurship to improve lives and unlock the human and technological potential needed for a more resilient and equitable planet.

As Director of Chain Reaction Innovations, Dick works with the CRI team and stakeholders to create and implement programming and vision that continually deepen and grow CRI’s impact. With a track record of forming successful strategic alliances across diverse ideas and partners, Dick is passionate about applying his analogical thinking to help others thrive in the complex worlds of hard tech and climate tech.

Immediately prior to his role at CRI, Dick advised tech startups in carbon utilization, the built environment, and synthetic biology, and he co-founded the Evanston Development Cooperative in 2019 to address housing affordability, inclusive workforce development, and sustainable construction in his local community. His interest in the built environment stemmed from his stint as the founding faculty director of Northwestern University’s award-winning U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Decathlon 2017 team.

Dick is a seasoned R&D leader who served as the Director of Operations and Outreach for the Argonne-Northwestern Solar Energy Research Center (a DOE Energy Frontier Research Center) from 2012-2018. While a faculty member at Northwestern University, he published regularly in peer-reviewed journals covering topics from early-stage commercialization strategies to ultrafast photochemistry of solar materials.

Dick is an Executive Scholar at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and he holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Physics and A.M. in Chemistry and Chemical Biology from Harvard University, and a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.