Dr. Abby Larson is a sociologist who graduated with honors from Stanford University (BA international relations /MA sociology) and earned her doctorate at New York University. She has cultivated her research through fellowships with UC Berkeley, Harvard, and Stanford, and she has taught and developed courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels during her career. In conjunction with her research and teaching, Larson has helped to establish new initiatives at NYU, Stanford, and Rice University, most recently serving as the inaugural Director of the Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Rice.