Bernard is the program manager for the TechInnovate and AgInnovate programs at the University of Galway. AgInnovate is supported by Springboard and annually trains 30-35 adult learners who earn an M.Sc. while working on projects from agriculture, food production, hospitality, and rural life.

Prior to coming to Galway, Bernard taught for thirty-six years at the University of Virginia where he was the Vaughan Professor of Humanities and head of the Department of Engineering and Society. At UVa, he launched the student-facing Tech Entrepreneurship program as well as an Innovation Corps training program funded by the US National Science Foundation.

Bernard’s area of expertise is the history of innovation and he draws on this background to help students develop effective methods and strategies in order to be innovators and agents of change.