Institute for Creative Technologies

Project Director

Todd Richmond is a Project Director at the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT). He entered college as a music major (an interest he continues to pursue as a performing bassist and vocalist in a variety of ensembles) but graduated with a B.A. in chemistry. Todd went on to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry from Caltech and following a postdoc at UCSF in protein engineering he accepted a faculty position at The Claremont Colleges where his teaching experience encompassed introductory, organic, and biological chemistry lecture and laboratory courses. In addition he created new curriculum in medicinal chemistry and revamped the biochemistry lecture course.

Early in his faculty career he incorporated multimedia and Web technologies into his teaching and research. That work led him to evolve from his specific focus on chemistry to instead pursue a broader understanding of the intersections of technology and content. He moved to the USC Annenberg Center in 2000 as managing director, researching trends in new media while fostering emerging digital technologies for collaboration and learning.

Currently at ICT Todd works in a variety of areas including: counter-IED training systems involving video narrative, immersive environments and geo-specific multiplayer gaming scenarios; interactive education including serious games and simulations; visualization, messaging, and media as agents of change; viral media and building learning communities. He also is a writer, photographer, and filmmaker, having produced/directed a series of “mini documentary” projects as well as numerous new media pieces. On the music tip, he has studied with Grammy-winning bassist Victor Wooten and is currently a mentee of Kai Eckhardt.