Kathryn Ibata-Arens

Kathryn Ibata-Arens serves as Vincent de Paul Professor and Endowed Professor of Environmental Diplomacy at DePaul University, where she has held a position since January 2002. She also maintains a visiting research faculty appointment at Ritsumeikan University's Graduate School of Management in Kyoto, Japan since April 2012. Her academic career spans over two decades with a focus on the intersection of technology, policy, and Asian economic development.

Dr. Ibata-Arens earned her PhD in Political Economy, Comparative Politics, and Political Theory from Northwestern University between 1992 and 2001. Her educational background provided the foundation for her specialized expertise in international political economy and Asian studies.

Her research interests center on high technology policy, Asian business and politics, Japanese political economy, and biomedical innovation. She has developed significant expertise in what she terms "networked techno-nationalism" - examining how Asian countries strategically develop innovation ecosystems while navigating global competition. Her work particularly focuses on biomedical sectors including pharmaceuticals, genomics, stem cell therapies, and medical devices.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a clear trajectory toward examining biomedical innovation systems across Asia, with particular attention to how different countries structure their approaches to technological development. Her work spans comparative studies of Japan, China, India, and Singapore, identifying how each nation's unique political and cultural context shapes its innovation pathways in high-technology sectors.

• Visiting Scholar, Research Institute for Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI), Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Tokyo, Japan (Sep 2011)
• Mike Mansfield Foundation and the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership, U.S.-Japan Network for the Future Fellow (Sep 2010)
• Fulbright New Century Visiting Scholar, Research Center for Innovation Management, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan (Jul 2009)
• Japan Policy Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Washington, D.C. (Jun 2008)
• Social Science Research Council (SSRC)/Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership Abe Fellow, Faculty of Commerce, Doshisha University (Sep 2005)

Dr. Ibata-Arens has served on the METI-State Department Japan-US Innovation and Entrepreneurship Council (2012-2013) and currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Japan America Society in Chicago. Her policy engagement demonstrates how her academic research directly informs governmental approaches to innovation policy. She frequently contributes to public discourse through media outlets including The Atlantic's Quartz, Newsweek's the Daily Beast, and Huffington Post.