Yasuyuki (Yas) Motoyama is an assistant professor in the City and Regional Planning Section at the Knowlton School. His main research areas are economic development, innovation, entrepreneurship, and science and technology development.

 

Prior to joining the Knowlton School, Motoyama was an assistant professor at the Geography Department and Business School at the University of Kansas. He was also a research director at the Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City and a postdoctoral fellow with the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

 

His first book examined geographical concentration of research and development activities by Japanese multinational corporations, such as Toyota, Sony, and Canon. His other works about Japan include university-industry cooperation, as well as science and technology policy.

 

An avid speaker, Motoyama has presented at numerous conferences in Japan, Germany and the UK. In the U.S., he has presented, for instance, at the Seattle Economic Development Commission, Committee on California State Assembly, National Governors Association, Council of State Governments, Harvard Business School, World Bank and Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. In Japan, he presented at Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Meiji University, Chuo University, Kagawa University, and Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University.

 

Motoyama earned a Bachelor of Arts with triple majors in history, international relations and political science from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. He earned a Master of Public Administration from Cornell University, and a PhD in city and regional planning from the University of California, Berkeley.

 

His academic writings can be found through Google Scholar, in addition to some non-academic writings from Inc. Magazine, Forbes.com and Xconomy. Since January 2019, he is a special advisor to the Small Business Ecosystem Assessment Committee at the City of Columbus, Ohio.