People
Faculty from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) and John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) lead and provide core instruction in the MDE program. Additional instructors and guest critics are routinely incorporated into MDE courses to provide area expertise and experience from professional practice.
Program Co-Directors
Martin Bechthold
Kumagai Professor of Architectural Technology, GSD
Joanna Aizenberg
Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Material Science; Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, SEAS
Program Faculty
Kipp Bradford
Preceptor in Engineering Sciences, SEAS; Chief Technology Officer, Gradient
Elizabeth Bowie Christoforetti
Assistant Professor in Practice of Architecture, GSD; Founding Principal, Supernormal
Luba Greenwood
Visiting Lecturer in Engineering Sciences, SEAS; CEO at Kojin Therapeutics
Jonathan Grinham
Assistant Professor of Architecture, GSD
Fawwaz Habbal
Senior Lecturer on Applied Physics, SEAS
Jock Herron
Design Critic in Design Engineering, GSD
Karen Korellis Reuther
Design Critic in Architecture, GSD; Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative
Mary Tolikas
Lecturer on Engineering Sciences, SEAS; Chief Innovation Officer at Dana Farber Cancer Institute
James Weaver
Senior Scientist, SEAS
Andrew Witt
Associate Professor in Practice of Architecture, GSD; Co-Founder, Certain Measures
Siqi Zhu
Preceptor in Engineering Sciences, SEAS; Director, Planning & Delivery, Google Sidewalk Labs
“I knew going into the program that our cohort would be made up of deeply talented individuals from a variety of backgrounds, and I anticipated that we would all have different skillsets and knowledge bases. What I did not anticipate was that our interests and ways of working would be so closely aligned: across the board, there’s a desire to think systematically, understand details, and make a positive contribution to society.”
-Brian Ho, MDE ’18-
Gail Alderson
B.S. in Computer Science
Ghalya Alsanea
Bachelor of Architecture
Marc A. Apicella
B.A. in Economics; Postbaccalaureate in Experimental Psychology
Sneha Arvind
B.Des in Industrial Design with a specialization in Furniture and Interior Design
Rebecca Brand
B.A. in Art History, Art Studio
Kedrick Brown
B.S., Rutgers University (Physics major), and M.B.A., The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Kamila Czachorowski
B.A. in Anthropology, Secondary in Computer Science
Riad El Soufi
B.Eng. Civil Engineering
Caroline Fong
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering
Kevin Gao
M.S. in Computer Science and Data Science
Dishi Gautam
B.E. Engineering Product Development, Mechanical Engineering
Deepika Gopalakrishnan
Bachelor of Product Design
Binita Gupta
B.S.E. in Computer Science
Shangjun (Jenny) Jiang
B.A. in Statistics and Media Studies
Huanwen (Gavin) Jiao
B.A. in Product Design
Aqdas Kamal
B.Eng. Materials Science and Engineering, MSc Biomedical and Bioengineering
Allison Karp
B.S. Aerospace Engineering with Minor in Mathematics
Mimi Kigawa
M.A. in Geosciences and Business
Jessica Kwon
B.S. Psychology & Human-Computer Interaction
Ana Lucia Merla
B.A. in Design
Felicia Liang
B.Com in Business Economics and Law
Steven Morse
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering
Lurein Perera
Computer Science and Economics
Brandon Read
B.S. Computer Science
Cedric-Pascal Sommer
B.S. in International Business Administration
Shivesh Sood
B.Eng. in Electronics Engineering
B.A. in Computer Science, MEd in Curriculum and Teaching
Arthur van Havre
B.A. in Philosophy and Political Science
Connie Wang
Bachelor of Architecture
Yujie Wang (王宇杰)
B.A. in Architecture with Environment & Energy Engineering; Master in Computational Design
Jiabin Wei
M.E. in Urban Planning and Policy Design
Jiwon Woo
B.A. in Computer Science and Media Arts, M.F.A. in Biodesign
Hana Yamaki
B.A. in Economics
Daeun Yoo
B.A. in Fine Arts, Minor in Business Administration
Wenbo Zhang
Master of Architecture, Cornell University
Aman Kaleem
Visiting Artist at Harvard University, M.A. Mass Communication with specialization in Film
MDE alumni take the skills, tools, and techniques developed during the program into a variety of fields, industries, and research institutions. Some MDE alumni work for large corporations, others for startups, non-profits, or in the academy. Their pursuits are as diverse as their backgrounds, and several have started ventures based on work in the MDE program.
Featured Alumni Stories
Nupur Gurjar
Students in Dialogue: A conversation with MDE candidate Nupur Gurjar
Maximilian Mueller
Students in Dialogue: A Conversation with Maximilian Mueller
Alumni Directory
The following listing includes a selection of MDE alumni.
Nicole Adler
Zeerak Ahmed
Katrina Armistead
Ed Bayes
Jeronimo Beccar
Yash Bhutada
Jeremy Burke
Nicholas Collins
Jenny Fan
Taylor Greenberg Goldy
Mitsue Guerrero Monsalve
Nupur Gurjar
Brian Ho
Vivek HV
Divyanka Kapoor
Togo Kida
Erin McLean
Arjun Menon
Terra Moran
Maximilian Mueller
Santiago Mota
Elisa Ngan
Elizabeth Price
Michael Raspuzzi
Kenneth So
Vish Srivastava
Karen Su
Mengxi Tan
Kiran Wattamwar
The MDE Industry Advisors are a group of industry experts from diverse fields—design, engineering, education, consulting, technology, and more. They are regularly invited to join reviews of student work and provide career advice, or might advise a second year ‘Independent Design Engineering Project’ (IDEP). The interdisciplinary expertise of our industry advisors reflects the innovation, ingenuity, goals, and values of the program, and provides invaluable support to the collaborative nature of MDE.
Sean Chiao
Global Business Line Chief Executive, Buildings + Places, AECOM
Dana Cho
Chief Design Officer, Verily Life Sciences
Andrew B. Cogan
CEO, Sonneman, Inc.
Fiona Cousins
PE, LEED AP BD+C, Arup
Karen Harris
Managing Director of Macro Trends Group, Bain & Company
Jonathan Hursh
Founding Partner, Utopia
Ana Pinto da Silva
CEO, 2G3R Inc.
David Radcliffe
VP of Real Estate and Workplace Services, Google
Wolfgang Rieder
Entrepreneur
Randy Swearer
Vice President, Learning Futures, Autodesk
Harry West
Professor of Practice, Columbia University; Principal at Invisible Design
“I remember in the first advisory board meeting that we, as advisors, looked at each other and said we would love to be students in the program ourselves. It was remarkable to see leaders of IDEO, frog, and AECOM be provoked with a childlike curiosity to learn again. The ambition and audacity of the program drew this out in them. I know we shared a keen sense that it is critical for the world that we produce designers who can handle the complexity that is rushing our way.”
-Jonathan Hursh, Founder of Utopia-