Karen H Viani

Karen Hathaway Viani is an entrepreneur, innovation strategist, educator, and executive leader with more than 25 years of experience helping organizations transform innovative ideas into meaningful impact. Her career spans leadership roles across government, industry, academia, and startups, where she has led technology commercialization, strategic partnerships, product development, and organizational transformation initiatives.

Karen teaches entrepreneurship with a practical, experiential approach that equips students to identify opportunities, validate ideas, engage customers, and build sustainable ventures. Drawing on her experience founding a consulting firm, advising technology startups, and leading commercialization efforts for emerging technologies, she connects classroom concepts to the realities of launching and growing new ventures.

As Co-Director of the UNCW Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) Mentor Program, Karen works with entrepreneurs, students, alumni, and community partners to build meaningful mentor relationships that help ventures reach their next milestone. She is passionate about cultivating collaborative innovation ecosystems and creating opportunities for founders to learn from experienced business leaders, investors, and subject matter experts.

Karen holds a Doctor of Engineering from The George Washington University, an MBA in Management Information Systems from Western New England University, and a bachelor's degree in Physics from the College of the Holy Cross. She is a Certified Integral Coach, Program Management Professional (PMP), and active mentor and advisor to startups and innovation organizations. Through her teaching and leadership, Karen is committed to helping the next generation of entrepreneurs develop the confidence, skills, and networks needed to create lasting economic and community impact.

Education

D. Eng. in Systems Engineering Management, The George Washington University, School of Engineering and Applied Science.
MBA in Management Information Systems, Western New England College.
BA in Physics (English Lit. & German concentrations), College of the Holy Cross.

Specialization in Teaching

Program Management Professional (PMP) Certification
SAFe Product Manager/Product Owner (PM/PO) Certification
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification
Certified Integral Associate Coach

Research Interests

Karen's research interests center on the factors that influence the successful translation of research and innovation into real-world impact. Her doctoral dissertation, "Predicting Federally Funded Research & Development Outcomes with Ideation, Project, and Organizational Factors", examined why some research and development efforts successfully transition to operational use while others do not. Leveraging systems engineering, machine learning, and innovation management, she developed predictive models that identified the technical, organizational, and leadership characteristics most strongly associated with successful R&D outcomes.

Her broader research interests include innovation ecosystems, technology commercialization, entrepreneurship, organizational strategy, public-private partnerships, and leadership in emerging technology environments. She is particularly interested in how universities, industry, government, and investors can collaborate more effectively to accelerate the commercialization of research and strengthen regional innovation ecosystems.

Karen is passionate about translating research into practice. Her work explores practical approaches for improving customer discovery, venture development, mentor engagement, technology transition, and evidence-based decision making throughout the innovation lifecycle. Through both her teaching and research, she seeks to equip entrepreneurs, students, and innovation leaders with frameworks that improve the likelihood of successful commercialization while maximizing the societal and economic impact of research investments.

Community Engagement

St. James Foundation of North Carolina, Board Secretary (2025-current)

Honors & Awards

Department of Defense Top Secret SCI Clearance
Publications and presentations:
• Invited speaker, Women In Technology, 2025. “Powering Progress: Women Driving Investment and Innovation in GovTech”.
• MITRE Quick Ukraine Reponses Initiative: Leveraging Corporate Culture for Real-World Impact, Research-Technology Management, 66:6, 33-37, DOI: 10.1080/08956308.2023.2254669. 2023. Primary author.
• Invited speaker, Innovation Research Interchange Annual Conference, 2023. “MITRE Quick Response Initiative: Leveraging Corporate Culture for Real World Impact.”
• "Navigating the Complex Licensing Landscape" conference panel discussion, sponsored by Patent Transactions and IAM - Informing IP value, April 29, 2021.
• “Engaging, Encouraging and Retaining Women in STEM Careers” panel discussion, sponsored by Business Women’s Giving Circle and Discover-E, September 24, 2020.
• “Predicting Innovation Outcomes” conference presentation, Innovation Research Interchange Fall Networks Conference, September 17, 2020.
• “Women in STEM” panel discussion, sponsored by Society of Women Engineers and FlexProfessionals, August 3, 2020.
• Preparing Supply Chain Operations for the Next Phase of the COVID-19 Response, COVID-19 Healthcare Coalition, 2020. Contributor.
• Predicting Federally Funded Research & Development Outcomes with Ideation, Project and Organizational Factors, 2019, dissertation submitted to The George Washington University.
• Response of The MITRE Corporation to the NSTC/JCORE RFI on the American Research Environment, 2019. Co-author.
• MITRE Response to RFI Supporting PMA/CAP #14 (Federal Technology Transfer), 2018. Contributor.
• Situational Awareness for Electric Utilities, Parts A and B, USA: NIST Special Publication 1800-7, 2017. Co-author.
• Identity and Access Management for Electric Utilities Parts A, B, C, USA: NIST Special Publication 1800-2, 2015. Co-author.