Leidy Klotz (born July 14, 1978) is an American scientist and author who studies and writes about design and problem-solving. He is a professor of engineering and architecture at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. Klotz has published in scientific journals including ''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

'' and ''Science'' and in other publications such as ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', ''

Harvard Business Review ''Harvard Business Review'' (''HBR'') is a general management magazine published by Harvard Business Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Harvard University. ''HBR'' is published six times a year and is headquartered in Brighton, Massach ...

'', ''

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is a monthly American business magazine published in print and online that focuses on technology, business, and design. It publishes six print issues per year. History ''Fast Company'' was launched in November 1995 by Alan Web ...

'', and ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

''. He is also the author of two popular books: ''Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less'' (2021), which discusses design and problem-solving, and ''Sustainability through Soccer'' (2016), a work about systems thinking. Klotz is a retired

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

soccer player.

Soccer career

Klotz played professionally for the

Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1999 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American so ...

, making 31 appearances and scoring 3 goals in the 2000 and 2001 seasons. Klotz was a 2x Division I All-American at Lafayette College. He was inducted into the Lafayette College Hall of Fame in 2016 and the Homer High School Hall of Fame in 2009.

Scientific career

Klotz is currently a Professor of Engineering and Architecture at the

. He studies and teaches the science of design, and, in 2019, co-chaired a ''

Nature Sustainability ''Nature Sustainability'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Nature Portfolio. It was established in 2018. The editor-in-chief is Monica Contestabile. Abstracting and indexing The journal is abstracted and indexed in: ...

'' Expert Panel on this topic. He has published articles in ''Nature'' and ''Science'' and, as of 2022, has an

h-index The ''h''-index is an author-level metric that measures both the productivity and citation impact of the publications, initially used for an individual scientist or scholar. The ''h''-index correlates with obvious success indicators such as winn ...

of 24. His research has been covered by ''The Washington Post'', ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''The World Economic Forum'', ''Grist'', ''Scientific American'', and newspapers around the world.

Books

''SUBTRACT: The Untapped Science of Less'' (Flatiron Books, 2021). ''Subtract'' is recognized as an essential read in behavioral science, design, environmental, business, well-being, and education. The book builds from Klotz's research showing that the human mind tends to add before taking away, even to our detriment. The first half of the book discusses biological, cultural, and socio-economic explanations for this tendency. The second half of the book offers ways to overcome harmful subtraction neglect, drawing from science and from subtracting examples and exemplars such as:

Maya Lin Maya Ying Lin (born October 5, 1959) is an American designer and sculptor. In 1981, while an undergraduate at Yale University, she achieved national recognition when she won a national design competition for the planned Vietnam Veterans Memoria ...

Elinor Ostrom Elinor Claire "Lin" Ostrom (née Awan; August 7, 1933 – June 12, 2012) was an American Political science, political scientist and Political economy, political economist whose work was associated with New institutional economics, New Institutio ...

, The

Embarcadero Freeway Embarcadero, the Spanish word for wharf, may also refer specifically to: Places * Embarcadero (Oakland), California * Embarcadero (San Diego), California ** Embarcadero Circle, waterfront re-development project in San Diego * Embarcadero (San Fran ...

, Balance Bikes, Anna Keichline, and

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

. ''Sustainability through Soccer'' (University of California Press, 2016).

Notable research articles

* "People Systematically Overlook Subtractive Changes." Nature. 592. 258–261. Adams, G., Converse, B., Hales, A., and Klotz, L. (2021) * "Embracing Behavioral Science." The Bridge - National Academy of Engineering. 50 (4). Klotz, L., and Pickering, J. (2020) * “Beyond rationality in engineering design for sustainability.” Nature Sustainability. 1: 225–233. Klotz, L., Weber, E., Johnson, E., Shealy, E., Hernandez, M., and Gordon, B. (2018) * “Sustainability as a route to broaden participation in engineering.” Journal of Engineering Education, 103(1): 137–153. Klotz, L., et al. (2014). * “A framework for sustainable whole systems design.” Design Studies. 33(5) 456–479. Blizzard, J., and Klotz, L. (2012).

Science communication

Klotz writes about research and design for popular outlets such as ''The Washington Post'', ''Fast Company'', and ''Harvard Business Review''. Klotz frequently appears on top science podcasts and radio shows such as

Freakonomics Radio ''Freakonomics Radio'' is an American public radio program which discusses socioeconomic issues for a general audience. The show is a spin-off of the 2005 book ''Freakonomics''. Journalist Stephen Dubner hosts the show, with economist Steven ...

, Mindscape with Sean Carroll, the Michael Shermer Show, and PRI The World.

References

External links

Audio Interview
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Klotz, Leidy American male non-fiction writers American men's soccer players University of Virginia faculty Men's association football midfielders Living people 1978 births American scientists