Design Innovation News Center
Creating e-textiles is the topic of a hands-on, maker workshop and a lecture in ¹ú²úÂ×Àí’s DI Hub in collaboration with ¹ú²úÂ×Àí’s School of Fashion.
The Design Innovation Initiative at ¹ú²úÂ×Àí is excited to announce the selected participants for the inaugural cohort of the DI Creatives‑in‑Residence (CIR) Program, a semester-long residency that supports visionary creatives in the ¹ú²úÂ×Àí community and beyond working at the intersection of art, design and technology.
David E. Silva participated in The John and Fonda Elliot Design Innovation Faculty Fellows Program, a six-week intensive fellowship with the Design Innovation Initiative that embodies DI's core mission of fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, connecting design, innovation and technology while serving as an incubator for cross-university projects.
As part of the John and Fonda Elliot Design Innovation Faculty Fellowship, VCD professor Hadi Rahmati partnered with Computer Science assistant professor Raiful Hasan to improve how self-driving cars communicate with pedestrians.
As part of Hawken School’s annual FAB Play Maker Educators Institute, Integrated Mathematics major and future math teacher, Anna Leitson, led a hands-on workshop titled Integrating Sewing Arts into the Classroom.
A group of school administrators from Brazil recently completed the 10-day Design Innovation Change Agent Workshop at ¹ú²úÂ×Àí’s Design Innovation Hub, where they immersed themselves in design innovation techniques as they endeavor to innovate their school system at home.
The Design Innovation Initiative is pleased to welcome the third cohort of The John and Fonda Elliot DI Faculty Fellows Program and first to participate in the six-week summer fellowship. Based in the Design Innovation Hub and generously supported through an endowed gift from John and Fonda Elliot, the program creates space and time for faculty members from any academic unit to engage in collaborative, cross or trans-disciplinary projects utilizing human-centered design and innovation strategies.
Rachel Stauffer, a senior at ¹ú²úÂ×Àí double majoring in Fashion Design and Business Marketing, is using fashion as a vehicle for environmental change. Her latest project, a seven-look biodegradable collection titled "Bury Me," blends technical innovation with bold sustainability goals.
¹ú²úÂ×Àí MFA candidate and DI Hub Collaborator Atoosa Fadaei recently unveiled her thesis installation "Paradox," a sculptural work that merges traditional materials with digital fabrication to explore themes of displacement, war, and cultural memory.
DI Student Fellow, DeAnte Bernard, shares his experience at the 2025 a2ru Emerging Creatives Student Summit, where a group of DI Fellows explored this year’s theme, Resonate: Making Waves.
