M.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, UC Davis B.S. Mechanical Engineering, UC Davis, 2015
Erik is an interdisciplinary designer and maker with a background
in mechanical engineering and rapid prototyping. His research
interest involves prolonging the lifespan of consumer electronics
and IoT products. This includes: 1) promoting the Right to
Repair, 2) repurposing electronic waste, and 3) designing
user-interfaces that are intuitive and facilitate repair,
modification, and disassembly of the products.
Pedagogical University of Krakow, B.A. Industrial Design
Valentyna is an international designer with a background in
graphic and sustainable design. Her area of interest is focused
on smell and taste research as well as on sustainable design and
wearable technologies.
School of the Art Institute, Chicago, B.A. Fine Art
Elyse is an interdisciplinary designer whose work reimagines the
land use of decommissioned golf courses in the Western United
States. Joining experiences in sustainable fabrication,
environmental and social justice and ecology, Elyse creates a
speculative tool kit for converting the former courses into
public spaces. Through this work she inserts methods for
restorative landscapes, reintroduction of native plants and
wildlife habitats and facilitating community stewardship to
improve recreational access to underserved populations.
UC Davis, M.S. Community Development, expected 2021B.A. Design, University of California, Davis, 2015A.A. Art Studio, Shasta College, 2013
Tracy is a cross-disciplinary, genre-fluid, mixed-methods
designer and researcher. She has worked in acrylics, charcoal,
print, sculpture, video, short stories, folk songs, radio shows,
recording studios, yoga studios, and bar bands. Her health
communication work with the UC
Davis Center for Design in the Public Interest (DiPi) has
received international recognition, and she continues to work on
health-related community projects in rural far Northern
California.
Kaylani J. McCard (also known as Kaylani Juanita) is a freelance
picture book illustrator and writer. She’s known for winning a
Coretta Scott King Honors for her Illustrations in
Magnificent Homespun Brown, as well as a Stonewall book
award for When Aidan Became a Brother. Some of her
clients include Chronicle Books, Tilbury House, Lee and Low, and
many more. Her focus is counter storytelling based on her
experience as a biracial Black woman. Kaylani strives to create
new ways for people to imagine themselves.
Jude Mooney is a photographer, curator and exhibition designer
with an interest in experiential and immersive design. Her MFA
thesis work focuses on museum wall colors and how color can
support the artwork and engage the viewer. Jude believes that
artists, museums and curators have the power to enlighten,
transport, educate, and unite communities.
B.S., The German University in Cairo --Architectural Engineering
Fatema Mostafa is an architect, interior designer, and graphic
designer with a huge interest in the use of color in
architecture. Her Bachelor Project was a design proposal for The
Cairo Central Library in Egypt. The main concept was to encourage
the culture of reading and education among Egyptians. Fatema
believes that colors have the capability to transform buildings;
internally and externally, to the better, which contradicts what
her German professors have been teaching her, which is that
colors are gauche.
Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, B.F.A. Interior Design
Nicolle is a native New Yorker with a background in architecture
and interior design. Her previous work includes the technical
design, material selection, and project management in a diverse
range of project types from healthcare facilities, educational
settings, corporate offices, and residential spaces. She aims to
provide design solutions that integrate the goals of the clients
and unconventional materials to produce imaginative and enriching
spaces for the occupants.
Before starting the MFA in Design and just after graduating from
a BA in Industrial Design, I became specifically interested in
the field of Jewelry Design, and I have been exploring different
approaches in ideation and design for mass production. I am also
designing and making jewelry as an independent designer, with
several jewelry collections, mostly inspired by the history,
culture, and art of my ancient country, Iran.
B.S., University of Minnesota, Twin Cities -- Apparel Design
Quinessa Stibbins is an apparel designer and dancer from St. Paul
Minnesota. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a
BS in Apparel Design and a minor in social justice. She then
worked for a dance costume company called Kelle Company for
two years. Quinessa is passionate about designing through a
social justice lens and using both apparel and dance for
storytelling.
G.A.C. in Industrial Ecology, University of California Davis, 2020 A.S. in Mechatronics, Sierra College, 2020 Certificate in Ecological Horticulture, University of California Santa Cruz, 2012B.Arch in Architecture, University of Southern California, 2005
Dan’s interwoven art, design and research practices investigate
material ecologies + applications that bridge unbuilt & built
environments. Having worked in the adaptive reuse of plastics and
other energy intensive materials, Dan’s current research shifts
focus to biogenic cement composites which present new resilient
means of production and artmaking. Different biogenic and mineral
particulate matter are reclaimed from local construction and
agriculture waste streams.
I believe Design is a way of changing the world to be a better
place. A better world may have a different definition for
different people: perhaps an ergonomic chair or an Interface for
a pioneer application, each can make one’s world a better place
to live in. Over a decade of professional and academic experience
has equipped me with extensive collaborative skills and creative
methods in visual communication design.
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, BFA, Painting and Drawing
Edward Whelan comes to Davis from Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he
worked as an exhibition designer for the Philbrook Museum of Art.
While working on a number of exhibitions at Philbrook, Whelan
became interested in co-design and how those methods could be
brought into museums. With close to 10 years experience in the
museum field, Whelan plans to continue his relationships with
museums and will be the lead designer for the upcoming Wiley/
Slant Step exhibition at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem
Museum of Art (2022). Whelan received his B.F.A.
B.S., Middle East Technical University -- Civil EngineeringM.B.A., Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey B.A., Fashion Institute of Technology, New York -- Fashion Design
Rova Yilmaz is a designer interested in smart clothing and
functional clothing design. She studied fashion design and
civil engineering as an undergraduate. She prospects to
combine design, engineering, and art. Her research is biased
toward actuated clothes with functionality and purpose for being
smart.
