Administered by Cornell AAP in partnership with Cornell Human Ecology (CHE), Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science (Cornell Bowers), Cornell Duffield College of Engineering, and Cornell Tech in New York City, the department advances design education, fosters transdisciplinary research, and redefines design tech practice.
Artificial intelligence, 3D printing, advanced manufacturing, and robotics are transforming how we live, work, do business, and engage with our communities. In addition, the confluence of rapidly accelerating technologies — from quantum computing to genomics and synthetic biology to digital manufacturing and simulated realities — creates new intersections of the digital, the physical, and the biological that radically alter how we understand our world and humanity. Design is becoming increasingly critical to actualizing technology as a means for advancing human progress.
Recent advances in computation, visualization, material intelligence, and fabrication technologies have begun to fundamentally alter how we design, construct, and make, from nano to macro scales.
In this distinct moment of creative transformation, Cornell and Design Tech are uniquely positioned at the nexus between design and technology. Across the Ithaca Cornell Tech campuses, the university provides transdisciplinary, studio-based teaching models that intersect with research design technology. The department leverages these strengths to bridge fields and faculty at Cornell in areas such as design, engineering, biology, computer science, medicine, arts and sciences, and the built environment and to fill gaps in high-demand areas, including product, interaction, and digital media design.
Design Tech students and faculty come from diverse disciplinary backgrounds to investigate intersections of design, emerging technologies, engineering, and science. In our studios, classrooms, and labs, we apply insights and theories from fields within the humanities, biology, mathematics, among others, to the design, fabrication, and production of digital tools, products, and responsive materials. Specific subtopics within these broad categories include:
- AI and Design
- Interaction Design
- Data and Design
- Biomimicry and BioDesign
- Living Materials Design
- Computational Design
- Sustainability
- Robotic Fabrication and 3D Printing