harvard design engineering

over three years, i helped teach 7 classes (3 brand new), worked across 4 schools, and managed 2 years of summer programs, understanding the world’s biggest problems as well as actively prototyping ways to potentially solve them.

tl'dr

why new classes at harvard?

in my role as instructor and teaching fellow

featured projects

atlelier is rapid visual exposure for creative inspiration using virtual reality, EEG brain waves, and EOG eye tracking.

team: vivek, anesta, julian, and kenneth

read more here →

node is a mesh network to help create resilient communication insfrastructure for natural disaster response.

team: humberto, carla, jenny

read more here →

chu is a wearable continous airflow filter using biopolymer filters removing harmful particles from polluted air.

team: anesta, kate

read more here →

syncsense uses accupressure and virtual reality to help reduce motion sickness in accelerated travel in planes, trains, and cars.

team: arjun, erin, and carla

read more here →

afia is a flow cytometry-based assay using microfluidic processes to safely and cheaply detect HIV.

team: julian, kenneth, janet, kiran

read more here →

overview of classes

background

es100

applied design for scientists and engineers

course catalog: es100 @ harvard extension (professional education)

team: lead instructor with anas chalah

goal: understand why 30% of food is wasted in the u.s. and develop hypotheses for how to solve root causes at scale

structure:

  1. local city based sprint
  2. state wide challenge
  3. country based final projects

favorite reading:

background

stu 1231-32

collaborative design engineering core studio I + II

course catalog: stu 1231 + st 1232 @ harvard gsd + seas (masters)

team: teaching fellow with andrew witt, jock herron, and fawwaz habbal

goal: develop hypotheses and prototypes to design a better healthcare system across services and devices

structure:

  1. d3.js data visualization intro for understanding big problems
  2. product sprint for prototyping skills and team development
  3. final projects for figuring out how to scale beyond prototype

favorite reading:

background

es26

humanity and its challenges: systems thinking and engineering design solutions

course catalog: es26 @ harvard seas (undergraduate)

team: teaching fellow with vikram mansharamani, fawwaz habbal, and cherry murray

goal: map out system wide challenges to understand leverage points for solutions

structure:

  1. introduction to systems thinking and mapping
  2. pandemics, global refugees, climate change, inequality in education, and current events
  3. individual choice for final projects

favorite reading:

background

espp77

technology, environment, and society

course catalog: espp7 @ harvard college (undergraduate)

team: teaching fellow with sheila jasanoff

goal: explore different frameworks for a critical understanding of how society creates and is influenced by its creations

structure:

  1. introduction to technology and technological environments
  2. case study: automobiles for city based infrastructure, cleaning the air, and nuclear power, and geoengineering
  3. politics, responsibility, and social justice

favorite reading:

background

summer

seas summer programs

course catalog: active learning labs @ harvard seas (high school, undergraduate)

team: program manager and design instructor with anas chalah + active learning lab team

goal: understand different global challenges and develop prototyping skills

programs:

  1. introduction to biotechnology and wet lab research with a focus on cancer
  2. prototyping biosensors for soil with university of technology and engineering in lima, peru
  3. rapid prototyping drone delivery with active learning labs
  4. solar nanocell fabrication

favorite reading:

post mortem

what I would keep doing

what I would do differently

resources to explore more

health systems mde studio book

22 featured projects from the core collaborative studio in the harvard master in design engineering curriculum, with a focus on innovation in health systems. check out the book →

systems thinking for social change: a practical guide

a road map for how to understand complex challenges from a systems lens, including unintended consequences, stakeholder analysis, and how to evaluate how well solutions work. check out the book →

earthly politics: local and global in environmental governance

drawing from the field of science and technology studies, this book explores local v global governance, relationship of knowledge and power, as well as different institutional case studies. check out the book →

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life changing labs →


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