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DESCI Welcome Luncheon 2025
Faculty, staff, and students gathered together on August 29th to kick-off the upcoming 2025-2026 academic year in the Design Science Program. It was a great opportunity for everyone to reconnect after the summer and to give a special welcome to the incoming cohort of masters and doctoral students. Family members were also invited, and it…
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Graduate & Professional Student Appreciation Week
In celebration of the university’s Graduate & Professional Student Appreciation Week, we want to take a moment to recognize and express our gratitude to all of our Design Science graduate students. Their dedication, curiosity, and commitment to our interdisciplinary design science field are what make our program so unique and impactful. Whether through research, collaboration, leadership, or community-building, each of them contributes to the strength…
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Congratulations to Our Graduates!
Design Science recently held a special recognition event to celebrate the graduation of the following Design Science students during the 2024/2025 academic year: M.S. Design Science: We wish them all the best on their career journeys! […]Read More…
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Design Science Doctoral Candidate Lauren Wojciechowski Pushes Revolutionizing Co-Design in Health
Lauren Wojciechowski wants to improve your life. Wojciechowski, a Design Science doctoral candidate, is on a mission to reimagine and reshape what engineering can be to help people. Wojciechowski believes strongly in the College of Engineering’s People-First Engineering philosophy, “Reimagining and reshaping what engineering can be, enabling all engineers to have a positive impact on the world…
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Master Student Spotlight: Tanisha Agrawal(she/her)
Tanisha Agrawal is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Design Science at the University of Michigan. She began her journey in product design, but soon became drawn to the intersection of technology and design, which ultimately led her to explore how interdisciplinary design can create experiences that are not only useful, but essentially meaningful. She…
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Master Student Spotlight: Brian Richards (he/him)
Brian Richards is a master’s student in the Design Science program. In 2020, he received his BS in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Design Thinking from Brigham Young University. After graduating from BYU, Brian worked as an Experience Development Engineer at Ford for three years. Throughout his academic and professional career, Brian has also…
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Master Student Spotlight: Youngeun (Young) Yu (she/her)
Youngeun (Young) Yu holds a BFA and MDes in Media Interaction Design and is currently pursuing an MS in Design Science at the University of Michigan. Her expertise lies in Human-Centered Design, UX/UI design and research, and the intersection of AI and big data analytics for impactful outcomes. As a research assistant at the Ross…
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Portfolio Design Insights with DESCI PhD Alumna Ilka Rodriguez-Calero
Dr. Ilka Rodriguez-Calero is a social impact-driven engineer, design researcher, facilitator, and U-M alumna (Design Science MS ’19; Ph.D. ’22). She hosted a Portfolio Design Workshop focused on helping students craft and present their professional narratives through strategic portfolios. The session began with interactive exercises and reflection tools to help students explore their personal and…
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DESCI Student Advisory Committee: Program Ideation Workshop
The DESCI Student Advisory Committee (DSAC) recently hosted a collaborative ideation workshop to help define its mission and future priorities. The DSAC leadership team shared key insights from the recent community survey, facilitated group discussions, and led an engaging session focused on shaping the direction of the committee. Participants were invited to reflect on their…
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Master Student Spotlight: Siyi (Alex) Wang (she/her)
Siyi (Alex) Wang is a graduate student in the Design Science program at the University of Michigan, with a five-year background in architecture and human-centered design. She is passionate about user research and technology-driven solutions, focusing on improving user experiences for vulnerable populations. Her projects span a range of disciplines, from optimizing public transportation infrastructure…
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Master Student Spotlight: Stephanie Danner (she/her)
Stephanie Danner received her Bachelor of Science in Anthropology with a minor in Human Behavior and Social Services from Michigan State University. Initially Pre-Med, she discovered a passion for digital heritage and ethics while volunteering at the MSU Bioarchaeology Lab, where she created 3D models of Mayan pottery. During this time, she also worked on…
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Congratulations to Hannah Myers for Receiving the Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship!
We are thrilled to share that Hannah Myers has been awarded the Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship in recognition of her outstanding research and academic achievements. Hannah shares insight into her research and its impact: “The built environment—places we live, work, learn, and play—is not health-neutral. Substantial evidence supports this claim, yet most built environment and health…
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PhD Student Spotlight: Jared Owens (he/him)
Jared Owens is a first-year PhD student in the Design Science program. His research focuses on sociotechnical systems, with an emphasis on embedding public and community engagement into the design and deployment processes for future nuclear energy technologies. He graduated valedictorian from North Carolina State University in 2020 with an Honors Bachelor of Science in…
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Master Student Spotlights: Eliza Steinberg(she/her)
Eliza Steinberg is a student in the U-M Design Science Master’s Program with an interdisciplinary background in biopsychology and health from her undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan. She is passionate about improving health outcomes through the application of scientific principles and human-centered design. She chose the Design Science Program because of its flexibility…
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Master Student Spotlight: Ke Ding (she/her)
Ke Ding received her Bachelor of Engineering degree in Product Design and Manufacturing from the University of Nottingham (Ningbo, China) and is expected to receive her Master’s degree in Design Science in 2025. She chose the Design Science program because of its inherently interdisciplinary and flexible nature. With a highly personalized learning path, students in…
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Prof. Grace Burleson Presents Guest Lecture in DESCI 791 Seminar
On January 31, 2025, Prof. Grace Burleson, one of our distinguished PhD alumni, facilitated an engaging discussion in the DESCI 791 Seminar. Currently a multidisciplinary design researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder, Prof. Burleson specializes in engineering for social impact and sustainable development applications. She began the session by sharing insights into her academic…
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Staff Spotlight: Carolina S. Benn (she/her)
Hi everyone! My name is Carolina Benn and I serve as the Program Manager and Graduate Coordinator for the Design Science Program. I currently also serve as the Program Manager for the Macromolecular Science and Engineering Program, where I have been for a year. I am a proud alum, receiving my Bachelor of Arts degree…
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Garnishing a Brand
ISD Design Science Student Holden Pizzolato Integrates Community-Based Design and Brand Building for Zingerman’s Roadhouse Zingerman’s Delicatessen, headquartered in Ann Arbor, is beloved and legendary for its full-flavored, traditionally made foods — from storied sandwiches to seasonal side dishes and specialty food staples. This quality is appreciated among the best sandwich shops in America. In…
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Better Design
ISD Design Science PhD Candidate Koray Benli ’23 Harnesses the Integrative Power of U-M’s World-Class Faculty and Facilities to Design Structurally Adaptable Multi-Mode Consumer Products Sports Illustrated labeled the 1992 USA Olympic basketball team as the “Dream Team” on the cover of its February 18, 1991, issue. This USA Olympics team — the first to feature NBA…
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Comfortably Uncomfortable
ISD Distinguished Alumni Award Winner Dr. Amir Sabet Sarvestani Feels Right at Home Tackling the Unknowns Dr. Amir Sabet Sarvestani finds comfort in being uncomfortable. “One of the most important lessons I learned at ISD is to be comfortable with that uncomfortable thought or question,” said Dr. Sarvestani, who earned a PhD from University of…
