“`html
The recently formed Morningside Academy of Design (MAD) Professorships acknowledge exceptional faculty whose instruction, scholarship, and service have considerably influenced the domain of design at MIT and beyond. The appointments reinforce a dedication to interdisciplinary collaboration, guidance, and the advancement of innovative educational methodologies in design.
These appointments signify the establishment of the MAD Professorships and were officially revealed on April 29 during the MAD in Dialogue gathering, where faculty members, introduced by their departmental heads, delivered brief presentations on their work, followed by a collective discussion about the future of design education.
The first holders of the chair include Behnaz Farahi, assistant professor of media arts and sciences and director of the Critical Matter Group in the MIT Media Lab; Skylar Tibbits, associate professor of architecture, co-founder and director of the MIT Self-Assembly Lab, and assistant director for education at MAD; along with David Wallace, professor of mechanical engineering, MacVicar Fellow, and Class of 1960 Innovation in Education Fellow.
John Ochsendorf, the founding director of MAD, states that “the professorships represent more than mere titles—they affirm the pivotal role of design in empowering students to tackle intricate challenges. Behnaz, Skylar, and David are all renowned designers, each bringing a distinct viewpoint to design education and research. By supporting them, we will foster more adaptive, inventive thinkers throughout MIT.”
Professor Farahi’s MAD professorship will commence on Sept. 1, following the conclusion of her Asahi Broadcast Corp. professorship. The appointments of Tibbits and Wallace take effect immediately. The faculty members will maintain their affiliations with their respective departments.
Behnaz Farahi
Joining the MIT faculty in the fall of 2024 as an assistant professor in media arts and sciences, Behnaz Farahi brings her critical perspective to design research and education. With a background in architecture, her career encompasses fashion and creative technology. Farahi focuses on addressing pressing societal challenges through a design practice that engages emerging technologies, human bodies, and the environment. As director of the Critical Matter research group at the MIT Media Lab, Farahi seeks to reintegrate the tradition of critical thought from philosophy and social sciences with the issues of “matter” in science and technology.
She has earned accolades including the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum Digital Design Award, Innovation by Design Fast Company Award, and the World Technology Award. Her work has been featured in the permanent collection of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and has been showcased internationally.
Her latest installation, “Gaze to the Stars,” projected video close-ups of MIT community members’ eyes onto the Great Dome, accompanied by encoded personal narratives of resilience and transformation. The project utilized large language model and computer vision technologies to create a collective artistic experience.
Currently the recipient of the Asahi Broadcasting Corporation Career Development Professorship in Media Arts and Sciences, Farahi’s MAD appointment will begin after her current role ends. She will continue her affiliation with the MIT Media Lab.
Skylar Tibbits
An architect by profession, Skylar Tibbits merges design and computer science as co-founder and director of the Self-Assembly Lab at MIT and associate professor of design research in the Department of Architecture. Committed to expanding the scope of design education, he oversees undergraduate design programs at MIT and contributes to its curricula.
At the Self-Assembly Lab, Tibbits directs the advancement of self-assembly and programmable material technologies including 4D knitting and liquid metal printing, with a diverse range of applications spanning from clothing and housing to coastal resilience.
He has crafted and constructed large-scale installations and exhibited in galleries worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art, Centre Pompidou, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, among others.
David Robert Wallace
David Wallace has long been a respected figure in design research and education at MIT and globally. Wallace began his research journey focusing on computational tools for design representation and has broadened his interests to encompass environmentally sustainable design methods, developing software tools to enhance creativity and design, and integrating new media and tools into the design classroom to empower engineers and designers. His research aims to develop novel methods that impact product development practices and to inspire and equip the next generation of engineering innovators.
Wallace is recognized both within MIT and beyond for developing two iconic design courses at MIT, 2.009 (Product Engineering Processes) and 2.00B (Toy Product Design). In evolving and refining 2.009 over the years, Wallace has blended a studio-based approach with rigorous engineering to establish a new paradigm for team-oriented, project-based design. In these courses, students engage in hands-on building and testing in real-world contexts, allowing them to understand what it means to design for actual users rather than merely design in theory.
His philosophy on design education is encapsulated in the video series “Play Seriously!,” which chronicles one semester of 2.009. For his significant educational contributions, he has been honored with the Baker Award for Teaching Excellence and was recognized as a MacVicar Faculty Fellow, MIT’s highest teaching accolade.
“`