History
Founded with Altshuller's blessing
In 1995, the team at Technical Innovation Center approached Genrikh Altshuller about creating a not-for-profit institution to promote TRIZ outside of Russia. Genrikh Altshuller gave his blessing for the idea and members of the TRIZ community went about realizing this initiative. In the fall of 1998, with the enthusiastic support of TRIZ users around the world, the Altshuller Institute for TRIZ Studies was established.
The Institute has continued to develop, serving the needs of a growing TRIZ community. We are the only organization officially authorized by Genrikh Altshuller, the founder of TRIZ, to use his name. Certification of TRIZ was enacted by Altshuller at the Institute's founding.
Today the Institute is a global organization that has developed a viable TRIZ certification process and promotes the universality of TRIZ in the world marketplace. We promote the use of TRIZ through our annual conference, TRIZCON, other global TRIZ events, webinars, books and videos, and we are developing TRIZ programs for STEM education.
Mission
Grow innovation and productivity with TRIZ methods
The Altshuller Institute believes that all men and women seek to be more creative and innovative. We believe that with the right tools and some training, people can become 10–30% more innovative and productive. TRIZ energizes and expedites the process of innovation; it is a natural amplifier of our talents, knowledge and experience.
Application of TRIZ methods to medicine, agriculture, manufacturing and business management can spur innovation and improve the human condition. Join us in making this world a better place.
Who we serve
- Anyone looking for innovation, effective thinking skills, and problem solving techniques
- Those who have heard about TRIZ and want to learn more
- Businesses seeking to develop or expand their R&D efforts more productively
- Schools interested in STEM — TRIZ is a perfect strand for systematic problem solving
- Consultants and practitioners seeking tools to complement Six Sigma, Lean, QFD or other quality programs
- TRIZ practitioners who wish to expand TRIZ to the world
Objectives
The primary objective of the Institute is the advancement of the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving and the allied arts and sciences, and maintenance of high professional standing among its members. The Institute's purposes are:
- To create, promote, and stimulate interest in the advancement and diffusion of knowledge of the art and science of TRIZ and its application.
- To promote unity, effectiveness of effort, and ethical professional conduct among those devoting themselves to the theory and practice of TRIZ.
- To provide for conferences, conventions, and other meetings of its members for the exchange of ideas and experiences.
- To publish and distribute books, pamphlets, periodicals and other printed matter devoted to TRIZ.
- To preserve, maintain and make accessible documents relevant to the past, present and future development of TRIZ.
- To make reliable information concerning TRIZ available to journals, newspapers and other channels of public information.
- To honor Genrikh Altshuller and gratefully recognize his contributions as the scientific foundation for inventive problem solving.
- To facilitate TRIZ research and development, translate TRIZ materials, develop and export TRIZ materials for children, and develop a certification program that standardizes proficiency levels.
Notes from the Executive Director
My feelings and observations
Welcome to the Altshuller Institute for TRIZ Studies.
After nearly 30 years of existence, the Institute came to recognize that it had fallen into its own form of "Paradigm Paralysis." While many of our past approaches served us well for over two decades, they were no longer effectively reaching or engaging today's audiences. Following several years of reduced activity, we realized it was time not simply to preserve TRIZ, but to reinvent how we communicate, teach, and apply it in the modern world.
Today, we are re-energizing the Institute with a renewed mission — not only to promote TRIZ, but to help people successfully apply TRIZ to real-world challenges, business growth, education, innovation, and personal development. We want individuals and organizations to experience the true power of systematic innovation and gain measurable benefits from its application.
Our goal is to build a strong global community of TRIZ practitioners, educators, researchers, students, and business leaders who believe in the value of structured creativity and advanced problem-solving. By helping people achieve greater success through innovation, we believe TRIZ can once again become a major force for progress in industry, education, and society.
We hope you will join us as we begin this exciting new chapter and help shape a future filled with greater creativity, innovation, success, and prosperity. Let's make Altshuller proud on his 100th anniversary!
Richard LangevinExecutive Director, The Altshuller Institute for TRIZ Studies
Elected officers
Current officers of the Altshuller Institute
As of April 2026. Congratulations to our newly elected officers.
Executive Director
Richard Langevin — Technical Innovation Center, Worcester, Massachusetts. Chair of the Conference committee.
Governance
Bylaws, committees and transparency
The Institute is governed by elected officers and an Executive Committee under its bylaws. Standing committees carry out the work of the Institute, and the Certification Board — five TRIZ Masters nominated by the Education Committee — administers certification.
Standing committees
- Membership
- Education
- Publicity
- Finance
- Conference
- Publications
- Website
- By-laws
Bylaws & directory
Bylaws of the Altshuller Institute for TRIZ Studies, Inc., the organization directory, advisors, and candidates for elected office.
Read the bylawsTax information
Tax information is provided in accordance with our 501(c)(3) status with full disclosure and transparency.
Current filing is Form 990-N (e-Postcard) because annual revenue is under $50,000.
Older 990s on the live tax page are historical.
AI tax formsRecognition
Matthew Coppola, Volunteer Builder and Operator
Since July 2026, Matthew has given his time to the Institute entirely as a volunteer, without pay, including work delivered through his company, Societas Technologies.
- Rebuilt aitriz.org from the ground up, rescued the legacy site from a server compromise, and hardened and accelerated it with custom protections.
- Moved hosting to Cloudflare and set up the Institute's Google Workspace, Drive, and YouTube.
- Built the TRIZCON 2026 speaker survey from scratch, and polished trizcon.org (site edits, CRM and database cleanup, email design and sending).
- Board and operations work: briefs with motions, the organizational chart, letterhead, and Goodstack nonprofit verification.
- Media: edited and packaged the Khaled fireside and Dr. Farber footage.
Contact us
Questions? We are eager to hear from you.
The Altshuller Institute is eager to hear your comments about our organization, the website, or TRIZ in general. If your university would like to install a TRIZ course, if your company would like to sponsor the Institute, or if you would like to host a TRIZCON, please get in touch.
- MailThe Altshuller Institute for TRIZ Studies
100 Barber Avenue
Worcester, Massachusetts 01606, USA - Phone508-799-6601
- Fax508-799-9944
- Emailai@triz.org
- Webaitriz.org