Thomas H. Byers is an American engineering educator and professor at Stanford University. He is the Entrepreneurship Professor in Stanford's School of Engineering and a faculty director of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP), the entrepreneurship center of the School of Engineering. His teaching and program work focus on technology entrepreneurship, engineering education, and responsible technology innovation.
Byers joined Stanford in 1995 after work in management consulting and the software industry. He was a co-recipient, with Tina Seelig, of the 2009 Gordon Prize from the National Academy of Engineering for work in technology entrepreneurship education.
Education
Byers earned three degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. He received a B.S. in industrial engineering and operations research in 1975, an MBA from the Haas School of Business in 1980, and a Ph.D. in business administration, with a concentration in management science, from Haas in 1982.
Career
Before joining Stanford, Byers worked at Andersen Consulting, Digital Research, Symantec, Slate, and Interval Research Corporation. His Stanford curriculum vitae lists him as executive vice president and general manager at Symantec from 1985 to 1990, where he worked on the company's antivirus and security software division during its formative years, and as president and co-founder of Slate from 1990 to 1993. Stanford credits Byers with hosting 50 Roundtables on Entrepreneurship Education on five continents over 15 years.
From 2011 to 2017, Byers was lead principal investigator and director of the National Science Foundation-funded National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation, also known as Epicenter.
Byers has taught courses including technology entrepreneurship, leadership of technology ventures, entrepreneurial management and finance, and Hacking for Defense.
Honors and awards
In 2009, Byers and Tina Seelig received the Gordon Prize from the National Academy of Engineering for developing and disseminating technology entrepreneurship education resources for engineering students and educators. The award recognized their work through STVP, including entrepreneurship courses, Roundtables on Entrepreneurship Education, and the Stanford eCorner archive.