Rich Lyons standing in outside setting with students in background

Research Expertise and Interest

foreign exchange markets, culture, innovation, entrepreneurship, online education, blockchains

Research Description

Richard Lyons is the Chancellor of UC Berkeley. He served as the first campus Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer, and is the former Dean of Berkeley Haas.  His research is on exchange rates, but from a "micro" perspective rather than the traditional "macro" perspective. The micro approach uses data on transactions in currency markets to address how this market absorbs new information. It is both "information theoretic" and quite applied in that it addresses the phenomenon (price determination) at its source. His most recent work in this area is on stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies pegged to other currencies like the US dollar or hard assets like gold. He is also writing more now on innovation and how cultures of innovation can be developed in universities and other institutions around the world. 

In the News

‘Berkeley Changemaker’ course turns self-discovery into tool for change

The instructors of a new UC Berkeley course have set an ambitious goal: changing the world, one student at a time. “The Berkeley Changemaker: A Discovery Experience” is a three-week class offered this summer to first-year undergraduates to help them identify their passions and leverage their leadership traits to transform Berkeley and the world, for the better.

Featured in the Media

Please note: The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or positions of UC Berkeley.
December 2, 2021
Taarini Kaur Dang
Forbes spoke with Rich Lyons, former dean at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley about entrepreneurship as the backbone of the innovation engine in the United States and the role universities have in incubating new technologies for the benefit of society.
March 15, 2021
Pat Joseph

California Editor in Chief Pat Joseph caught up with Rich Lyons, UC Berkeley's first-ever chief innovation and entrepreneurship officer to talk about his new role and a push he’s making for a trademarked initiative called Berkeley Changemaker.

February 25, 2020

Dan Mogulof, UC Berkeley Assistant Vice Chancellor for Communications & Public Affairs, in conversation with Rich Lyons, UC Berkeley's first Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer.

July 26, 2019
Mike Colagrossi

Business professor Richard Lyons, former dean of Berkeley's Haas School of Business, has been appointed Berkeley's first chief innovation and entrepreneurship officer. "The CIEO role has two parts: to be an evangelist for Berkeley entrepreneurship to the outside world of the Bay area, National, and International Innovation Ecosystem, and to work on advancing our campus culture for entrepreneurship and innovation," says Randy Katz, Berkeley's vice chancellor for research. Professor Lyons says: "One of the fun things is ... the role is yet to be designed and created. There are a lot of degrees of freedom to put the priorities where we feel they should be. I know the institution very well and can marshal the resources and people around the vision to get things done." 

July 11, 2019
Dean Takahashi

Business professor Richard Lyons, former dean of Berkeley's Haas School of Business, has been tapped to be Berkeley's first chief innovation and entrepreneurship officer. Taking effect January 1, 2020, his new position will include working with campus partners to advance Berkeley's innovation and entrepreneurship interests to benefit students, faculty, staff, and startups. He will also lead related strategic planning, communications, and intellectual property work. "If together we can improve the transformation of Berkeley's prodigious intellectual product, across the whole campus, into greater societal benefit, then we will have achieved a great deal," Professor Lyons said in a statement. 

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