Dan Goods

Creative Director; Recipient of NASA’s Exceptional Public Service Award; Revealer of Awe & Wonder

Dan Goods

Creative Director; Recipient of NASA’s Exceptional Public Service Award; Revealer of Awe & Wonder

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Biography

Dan Goods is passionate about creating moments where people are reminded of the gift and privilege of being alive. During the day he leads an amazing team of creatives at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory transforming complex concepts into meaningful stories that can be universally understood. The teams work is seen in public spaces, art museums, and is in outer space.

After doing the dishes and spending time with his wife and kids, Dan works on other creative problem solving projects around the world. He recently finished working with the Museum of the Future in Dubai, and is now trying to simulate the feeling of being in a room singing with a million other people.

Dan was honored with NASA’s Exceptional Public Service Award. In the past he was selected as “One of the most interesting people in Los Angeles” by the LA Weekly. In 2002 he graduated valedictorian from the graphic design program at Art Center College of Design. Dan currently lives in Altadena, CA with his wife, kids, chickens and a very special Rhodesian Ridgeback.

Speaker Videos

Dan Goods: How NASA invented a ventilator for COVID-19 ... in 37 days | TED

NASA Switches Gears | Dan Goods | TEDxStLouis

Speech Topics

Seeing the Unseen

There are many things in the universe that exist, but cannot be seen with human eyes. This applies to the physical world as well as it does to politics, your business or your personal future. These thoughts have made an impact on Dan Goods life and work. Dan will share his remarkable artwork that brings you closer to an invisible world you never knew, while at the same time sharing his personal story of creating a career that did not formerly exist. With humor and grace, Dan distills complex and weighty concepts into stories that can be universally understood. Through his presentation, you will see that sometimes new technology is needed to see the invisible, but sometimes you just need a new perspective.

Sneaking Up On Learning

Have you ever been drawn to something so beautiful or mysterious that it provoked you to start asking questions then down a rabbit hole you couldn’t escape until you soaked up all you could, not even realizing that you were learning? Dan has spent his career experimenting with ways to draw people into complex and weighty concepts without them realizing they are having a teachable moment. Hear about his process, what has worked and what has failed, and ideas on how you can help your organization sneak up on learning.

Swimming Like an Otter

On the first day of his fellowship at the renown California Institute of Technology, Dan’s advisor told him to swim like an otter in the school’s pool for the next 10 weeks. At first unsure of the purpose, he began to realize the gift he had been given and one of the most important lessons of his life, to see from different perspectives. Dan will share his journey from the pool to his out of this world artworks giving your audience tools to see their own projects in new ways and find better solutions along the way.

Creating Powerful Experiences with Data

In its most raw form, data is just 1’s and 0’s, but with imagination, the right people, and a bit of poetic storytelling they can create powerful experiences. From sculptures controlled by weather around the world, to immersive audio experiences, to communicating with a spaceship on its way to Jupiter, Dan has explored many ways of creating meaningful moments with data. He will share behind the scenes stories of his award winning data driven artworks giving insights into storytelling, multidisciplinary collaboration, and how you might tell stories about your own data.

Testimonials

“I flew Dan out to be the closing keynote for Australia’s largest digital innovation event, and I have to say I’ve rarely seen anyone change an audience’s state so quickly. His delivery, his passion, and his way of telling a story that engages and enthralls an audience are second to none. I’ve subsequently flown Dan out to speak at other events in Australia and Thailand and have been equally impressed. I can’t recommend him enough!”

- Content & Program Director, ad:tech and iMedia

“Dan Goods took the audience to another world, although our audience were from all over the Middle East and the world, Dan still made us feel we’re in this world all together going on this journey to discover the universe with its limitless possibilities. We felt as one.”

- Director -ING Creatives

“The thing that inspires every member of every audience to keep creating, keep growing, and keep pushing and innovating is awe and wonder. When wonder dies, so does everything else. Dan is one the best communicators in the world at inspiring audiences to keep that awe and wonder alive. I’d have a hard time thinking of someone more gifted and qualified to recommend for such a purpose. He totally crushed his talk at STORY Conference for a room full of cynical artists and creators and received rave reviews. Get him while you still can.”

- Director of STORY Conference

“When you started I wondered what your talk had to do with anything, by the end I realized that it had to do with everything.”

- Attendee at REMIX