Gerry Kanter
PhD Student
Gerry is big history and design enthusiast who is keenly aware of the impact of technology, in politics society, and the environment. Which is why he has enjoyed creating training and education programs for public and private sector clients. Gerry’s main interest in design and innovation stems from his first-hand experience in the use of cutting-edge technologies to solve problems in advanced manufacturing.
For over ten years, Gerry has worked in the private sector, helping advanced technology companies in the aerospace, automotive, and biotech sectors to improve their processes by developing custom training to teach workers, engineers, and educators about advanced manufacturing Gerry also teaches in the School of Industrial Design as a contract instructor, creating and delivering content to undergrad and master students while also giving them a glimpse at the issues and challenges faced by industry. His primary focus has been to help students of all ages to understand and embrace technology, not just to learn new skills but also to challenge preconceptions and question why things are done a certain way.
Gerry’s research is involved in understanding how knowledge evolves overtime, otherwise known as a socio-technical transformation. The goal of this field of study I to developing theories about change by using perspectives from various fields that include, sociology, economics and anthropology. Gerry’s current focus is to have a closer look at the role of public institutions and how their role in advancing innovation. My goal is to analyze bargaining and social interactions using agent-based modeling tools, to understand the types of social traits and group dynamics that can help (or hamper) the diffusion of technological paradigms.
Gerry’s overall philosophy to learning is best described by McGill professor Henry Mintzberg, which is to allow students to learn at their own pace, reflecting on the course material to develop their own hypotheses and theories about the world. His hope is that his work in industry and academia can help others to gain new insight but also grow an appreciation for continuous learning and incorporating previously unknown knowledge into new questions that tackle issues on the purpose and evolution of technology.