Planet Bee, a startup launched by four Harvard students (Takeo Tokunari, Kelsey Burhans, Tomohito Okuda, and Jenny Jiang), is working to make the sustainable practice of traditional beekeeping a more economically attractive endeavor for people living in the rainforest.

Read more in the article from Harvard SEAS: https://www.seas.harvard.edu/news/2021/03/buzzworthy-solution 

Naya Studio, a startup created by Saad Rajan (MDE '19) and Vivek Hv (MDE '19), uses artificial intelligence to turn client ideas into real products. The startup grew out of the duo's Independent Design Engineering Project in the MDE program.

Read more in Fast Company's December article: https://www.fastcompany.com/90584520/these-harvard-grads-want-to-turn-your-doodles-into-gorgeous-custom-furniture

Hyka Therapeutics, a startup created by Jeronimo Beccar (MDE '19), uses technology to enhance treatments for depression. The startup grew out of Jeronimo's Independent Design Engineering Project in the MDE program.

Read more in the Harvard SEAS article: https://www.seas.harvard.edu/news/2020/08/finding-patterns-behavior-personalize-care 

The student team of Ed Bayes (MDE '21), Nick Collins (MDE '22), Anirban Ghosh (MDE '21), and Milan Wilborn (Ph.D. SEAS) won the Harvard Innovation Lab Ingenuity Award Grand Prize for a GSD student project called Foresight, a soft robotic wearable navigation device that helps people with visual impairment feel the environment around them.

Read more in the SEAS article: https://www.seas.harvard.edu/news/2020/07/improving-assistive-technology 

As part of the MDE studio, the student team of Togo Kida, Hane Roh, Mitsue Guerrero Monsalve, and Yash Bhutada (all MDE '20), created CADY, a personalized coach in the form of a handle for a walking aid. Employing calm technology principles, CADY passes rhythmic vibrations to subconsciously guide a person's gait. A person can maintain their stride by matching their "comfortable walking speed" with CADY's haptic feedback.

The project won the "Student Notable Health & Wellness Award" from the 2020 Core77 Design Awards: https://designawards.core77.com/health-wellness/...

Jenny Fan (MDE ’19), who has had an interest in the spread of fake news since the last presidential election, explored how a digital jury could be used for content moderation as her Independent Design Engineering Project (IDEP).

“We are experiencing a huge ‘techlash’ right now. And the current methods of content moderation are not doing much to build public trust,” said Fan. “I wondered how we could conceive of new models of how the governance system can relate to society.”

Learn more:...

Ting, an app to detect stress level and offer meditation, was selected as one of the winners in the 2019 iF DESIGN TALENT AWARD. The project team included Togo Kida (MDE '20), Berlynn Bai (MDE '20), and Lou Zhang (George Washington University).

Read more on the...

Learn more about Jeremy Burke and Ramon Gras (both MDE '18) and their work on innovation districts, including their newly released "The Atlas of Innovation Districts." 

Helping cities unlock their full potential

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In preparation for the 19-20 studio theme of waste, incoming MDE students ventured to Save that Stuff, a Boston-based recycling and waste-resource company. Students learned more about waste management, including challenges and recent innovations, as well as related economics, government policy, and consumer behavior. Now, as the semester begins, students will dive deeper into the topic, sorting through...

Saad Rajan and Vivek Hv (MDE '19) have launched Naya, an online platform for the co-creation of custom furniture. The platform grew out of their Independent Design Engineering Project, a year-long project that requires MDE students to develop and prototype a solution to a complex problem of their choosing.

Read the full article about Naya here: https://www.seas.harvard.edu/news/2019/08/crafting-collaboration