Citizen Invention was founded by Dr. Ching-Fu Lan in Westport, CT, in 2015. As a seasoned qualitative researcher and educator with extensive experience working with K-12 and adult learners, Dr. Lan is passionate about design thinking—a human-centered approach that fosters creativity and empowers individuals to solve problems in innovative ways. Through workshops and courses, he has guided both learners and educators in applying design thinking to develop practical and impactful solutions.

Inspired by his interests in maker technologies, design thinking, and social education, Dr. Lan established Citizen Invention to explore the creative experiences of everyday invention. Since its inception, Citizen Invention has offered over one hundred Creative STEM courses, serving more than one thousand learners, and has been widely recognized for its engaging and impactful programs.

Throughout his career, Dr. Lan has examined how technologies and new media function as platforms for creative expression. More recently, his work has focused on how artificial intelligence (AI) can democratize creativity by lowering barriers to participation and expanding access to creative tools and processes.

Dr. Lan is an adjunct faculty member at New York University, where he teaches Communications & AI. He is also affiliated with Teachers College Record at Columbia University, where he reviews research manuscripts and conducts archival research. He holds an M.S. Ed. from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.