Design Tech

About the Department

The Department of Design Tech is a multicollege, transdisciplinary initiative pioneering innovation, research, and teaching on topics at the intersection of design and emerging technology that most greatly impact research, industry, and practice in a changing world.

Bridging expertise and catalyzing exploration, innovation, and collaboration in emerging areas, including design + interactions, design + materials, design + media, and design + environments, Design Tech is a generator of new modes, methods, and applications that redefine design practice and research.

Participating Cornell colleges: The College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP), Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science (Cornell Bowers), Cornell Human Ecology (CHE), Cornell Engineering, and Cornell Tech in New York City.

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Master of Science in Design Technology

A research and project degree that bridges disciplines and domains to ca…

Dec 11–Feb 4

AAP Engagement Impact Grant Virtual Informational Sessions

Attend an informational session about the AAP Engagement Impact Grants available to faculty and students in spring 2026.

Workshop
Feb 5–Mar 12

AAP Curricular and Mellon Collaborative Grant Virtual Informational Sessions

AAP is pleased to announce a call for course proposals in two categories: AAP Curricular Enrichment Grants and the Mellon Collaborative Studies Seminar Series.

Workshop
Feb 9–Mar 9

Open Houses: City Visionaries Summer Program for High School Students

Join us for an open house, where we'll share information and answer questions about City Visionaries, a new summer program for high school students in New York City.

Admissions

Stories Designing the Future: A Q&A With Harald Haraldsson

Man standing in the middle of his office

Haraldsson, associate professor of the practice in design tech at Cornell Tech and AAP, shares his vision for extended reality, his lab’s unique approach to prototyping, and what excites him most about the future of immersive design.

Stories What’s Ahead: Spring 2026 Highlights

a large domed building covered in snow as part of a college arts quad

After a winter break to regroup and recharge, faculty, students, and staff return to campus and to the open questions, conversations, and explorations that will drive the work of the semester ahead.

Stories From Milstein Scholar to Design Tech Pioneer

Julia Beitel (M.S. DT '26) brings an interdisciplinary approach to design and technology at Cornell Tech, developing inventive projects that integrate ethical innovation, digital and physical systems, and hands-on making through fabrication, teaching, and community-based work.

Stories Machine Learning Teaches Membranes to Sort by Chemical Affinity

Side-by-side SEM and machine-learning segmentation reveal how different micelle chemistries pattern the membrane surface to enable chemical-affinity sorting.

Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Design Tech faculty Uli B. Wiesner and his team used machine learning to create a new class of ultrafiltration membranes that sort molecules by chemical affinity rather than size, enabling more precise separations for medicine, manufacturing, and water treatment.

In the Media Waymo Says Its Self-Driving Taxis Will Take Customers on Freeways for the First Time

NBC News — Associate Professor of Information Science and Design Tech faculty Wendy Ju offers "guarded optimism" about Waymo's new freeway-driving robotaxis, emphasizing that while the milestone is technically impressive, its real test lies in how safely and intuitively the vehicles interact with humans in fast, high-stakes environments.

Stories Knitting Machine Makes Solid 3D Objects

A professor and student collaborate in a bright lab

Professor of Information Science at Cornell Bowers and Design Tech faculty François Guimbretière and engineering student Victor Guimbretière ('29) developed a prototype knitting machine that creates solid three-dimensional objects by interlocking yarn in multiple directions, opening new possibilities for customizable, biomimetic materials.

Announcements Dogan’s Environmental Systems Lab Receives Bentley Systems Founders’ Honors Award

Associate Professor Timur Dogan's Environmental Systems Lab receives a Bentley Systems Founders' Honors Award for Energy Atlas, a digital twin project led by Cheng Li (Ph.D. '28) that supports Ithaca's 2030 carbon neutrality goals.

Announcements Sabin Awarded ACADIA 2025 Society Award for Leadership

ACADIA — Architecture Professor and Design Tech Chair Jenny Sabin received an award that recognizes extraordinary contributions and service to the ACADIA community.