Designers for the Future Event Replay

Three generations of MAD Design Fellows explore how to design across time, space, and fields, through short presentations and conversations around bodies, objects, and environments. The event, which took place at the MIT Museum as part of Boston Design Week, also introduced the full 2024 cohort of Design Fellows.

May 14, 2024

Full event

Watch the full replay of our May 1, 2024 “Designers for the Future” event.

Part 1 — BODIES

CLEMENCE COUTEAU
Clemence is tackling the rise of postpartum depression (PPD) among U.S. mothers by aiming to develop a digital solution empowering at-risk pregnant women to improve mental health outcomes. This involves a self-directed therapy chatbot in a mobile app, based on the “ROSE” protocol.

MARIAMA N'DIAYE
Mariama studies how government agencies can leverage human-centered design methodologies across agencies to build better and more resilient programs, policies, and places in cities in the Global South.

ALEXANDRA RIEGER
Alexandra is implementing MediMusical designs as part of a stroke patient study at Harvard's Mass General. She seeks to develop and deploy standardizing solutions, assistive technologies, and inspired designs underscored by music for cognitive pathologies and further challenges facing our world today.

Part 2 — OBJECTS

GANIT GOLDSTEIN
Ganit examines how computational design workflow can be used to generate sustainable customized garments, and how new capabilities can be incorporated into fabric constructions.

LIANE MAKATURA
Liane writes software that helps people design and optimize 3D-printable structures with exceptional properties, such as the ability to block sound or be simultaneously strong and lightweight.

LYLE REGENWETTER
Throughout his years at MIT, Lyle has developed AI tools for design, putting them in the hands of designers at MIT and throughout the broader community. He seeks to develop more capable tools that can rapidly generate innovative designs to meet complex requirements while expanding the impact of AI in design.

Part 3 — ENVIRONMENTS

JAMES BRICE
James investigates the design of nature-based solutions for coastal adaptation with oyster reefs, working to provide coastal communities with the guidance to create physically, ecologically, and socially resilient waterfronts.

DENÍ LÓPEZ
Dení utilizes design in Participatory Action Research (PAR) to address community needs and advocate for social justice, particularly in disaster risk management. By integrating design, she develops problem-solving strategies, bridges theory and real-world applications, and enhances community engagement with a focus on Zapotec communities in southern Mexico.

ELIJAH MARTIN
Elijah focuses on understanding the environmental fate of a variety of plastics, in order to develop design rules for more sustainable polymers and systems that still meet consumer needs.