Leidy Klotz is a behavioural scientist and a professor of engineering and architecture at the University of Virginia. His research explores the relationship between design, problem-solving and human behaviour, with a particular interest in more sustainable systems. He connects disciplines that often address the same challenge from different directions.
Klotz holds a bachelor’s degree from Lafayette College, a master’s degree from the University of Washington and a doctorate from Penn State. Before his academic career, he was a professional football player. His earlier book, Sustainability Through Soccer, used that experience to explore questions about environmental and social change.
His book Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less develops research showing that people often overlook removing something as a way to improve an object, idea or situation. A 2021 Nature paper, co-authored with Gabrielle Adams, Benjamin Converse and Andrew Hales, examined this pattern through observational studies and experiments. The finding is about an overlooked option, not evidence that removing things is always better than adding them.
His 2026 book, In a Good Place: How the Spaces Where We Live, Work, and Play Can Help Us Thrive, extends his interest in behavioural science into the physical environment. It examines how surroundings influence habits, relationships and well-being. His teaching includes sustainability in the built environment and psychology for design and innovation, and his research appears in journals including Nature and Science.
For executive audiences, Klotz offers a useful challenge to an organisation’s default approach to change. A brief might concern excessive process, an overloaded portfolio or the environments in which people are expected to perform. His perspective asks leaders to consider the full range of design choices—including removal—and to examine how a system shapes behaviour before asking individuals to compensate for it.
