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Designing the Future of Technological Innovation and Social Impact in St. Louis
Thursday October 10, 2024 10:00am - 11:30am CDT
TBA
The world of “Build Fast and Break Things” is over. As we enter this next technological revolution, powered by artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies—where a digital product can instantly reach billions of people—we cannot risk putting broken things into the world. To prioritize impact along with innovation, designers must play a pivotal leadership role. They’re tasked not just with making technology look pretty, but also with embedding critical questions at the onset of innovative developments.

With its new Master of Design (MDes) for HCI and Emerging Technology, WashU is positioning St. Louis as a leadership hub for the next generation of socially innovative digital products and designers. This innovative new program inverts the model of exporting design to other disciplines, instead inviting collaborators to bring their problems to the design school to develop translational solutions that have meaningful impact on the world.



Come listen to the program Chair and Associate Professor Jonathan Hanahan talk about the exciting developments in design-led research anchored in St. Louis. Hanahan will discuss the program, research collaborations, and opportunities to get involved as collaborators, students, faculty, mentors, and more.
Find out how students in this program will become the leaders of this digital transformation.

About the Speaker:
Jonathan Hanahan is a researcher, critical designer, and educator with a complex relationship with technology simultaneously fascinated and apprehensive. His innovative approach involves harnessing technology to scrutinize its own impact. Through speculative exploration, he delves into the tangible, cultural, and societal consequences of digital experiences and technology's role in shaping our daily existence. Hanahan specializes in crafting Thick Interfaces media, experiences, and interfaces that disrupt the familiar digital veneers, revealing the complexity beneath.

Hanahan's current research is centered on alternative and ambient interfaces. In 2022, he established the Sensory and Ambient Interfaces Lab (SAIL), dedicated to envisioning a future less reliant on screens. SAIL explores non-visual interfaces and interactions, fostering a digitally enhanced yet less intrusive future. The lab operates in contexts where screens are impractical, unsafe, or distracting, investigating ambient design strategies that harmonize with human experiences to convey information.

Hanahan earned his BArch from Virginia Tech and his MFA from The Rhode Island School of Design. He is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Master of Design (MDes) for HCI and Emerging Technology program at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. Additionally, Hanahan co-founded and co directs Fox Fridays, an interdisciplinary workshop series promoting experimentation with tools, processes, and technology.

www.samfoxschool.washu.edu
@washusamfoxschool

Thursday October 10, 2024 10:00am - 11:30am CDT
TBA
  FOR EVERYONE

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