Zeyuan Zhang

Founder · Sino International Cooperative Design Alliance

Hong Kong, China

Zeyuan Zhang leads the Sino-International Cooperative Design Alliance and previously served as Design Vice President in Citi's investment division, overseeing experience design for complex financial trading systems. His work spans design methodology, systems design, and intelligent transformation. He now focuses on international design-award partnerships and cross-cultural exchange, working with technology companies including Dreame and LiberLive. Zhang has received more than 100 international design awards and served as a reviewer for over 20 design competitions and academic publications. His work and research have appeared in China Daily, Design, and LA Weekly.

Tim Hulford

Industrial Designer · Former Meta, Intuitive Surgical, Intel

Seattle, WA, USA

Tim Hulford is an industrial design leader focused on thoughtful, functional products and emerging technology. His experience includes surgical and diagnostic robotics at Intuitive and technology development at Meta and Intel. Drawing on a hands-on approach to product design, he works at the intersection of advanced engineering, practical use, and user experience.

Zachary Hobbs

Design Director · IDEO

Providence, RI, USA

Zachary Hobbs is a design director at IDEO's Cambridge hub, where he helps shape the studio's creative culture and engagement with the wider world. Guided by a maker's ethos and hands-on experimentation, his work explores how creativity can foster belonging, participation, and connection.

Yue Wu

Design Director · McKinsey & Company

Boston, MA, USA

Yue Wu is a design director at McKinsey & Company whose work combines human-centered design, technology, and entrepreneurship. He helps organizations in healthcare, consumer goods, energy, telecommunications, and insurance translate user insights into business-building strategies. Wu holds an MS in Architecture Studies and Urbanism from MIT. His work has appeared in Nightingale and Fortune and has been exhibited internationally at events including the Shenzhen Biennale, Shanghai Urban Space Art Season, and Art Book in China.

Vineta Chugh

Senior Designer · LEGO

USA / Denmark

Vineta Chugh is an industrial designer whose practice spans furniture, product systems, and color, material, and finish (CMF) design. Trained in 3D design, she combines conceptual exploration with hands-on prototyping and production knowledge. She works across disciplines with engineering and manufacturing partners to develop ideas from early concepts through realization. Her interests focus on the relationship between form, material, color, and user experience, balancing functional, technical, and experiential considerations.

Veronica Peitong Chen

Staff Product Designer · Adobe

Boston, MA, USA

Veronica Peitong Chen is an interdisciplinary designer, artist, and creative technologist specializing in experiences powered by AI, machine learning, and emerging technologies. At Adobe, she led AI/ML initiatives including work on Adobe Firefly, contributing to experiences used by audiences worldwide. Her projects have been covered by The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Bloomberg, and TechCrunch. She has also presented and participated in professional and educational events including Adobe MAX, FITC, and programs at Harvard University.

Topher Anderson

Textile Engineer · Textile.org

Schenectady, NY, USA

Dr. Topher Anderson is a textile engineer, designer, researcher, and advanced manufacturing entrepreneur with more than 15 years of experience. He holds a PhD in Textile Engineering and Science and has led engineering, research, and training initiatives across industry and academia. His expertise includes technical embroidery, smart textiles, composites, automation, textile-integrated electronics, tailored fiber placement, conductive materials, and robotic skins. Through Textile.org, he works with manufacturers, universities, government organizations, and engineering teams to translate emerging textile technologies into repeatable manufacturing processes.

Thomas Brisebras

Principal Designer · Johnson & Johnson

Santa Clara, CA, USA

Thomas Brisebras is a principal-level experience design leader working across design, technology, and human-centered innovation. Trained in industrial design, he has expanded his practice into user experience and systems thinking. His work spans physical and digital products, platforms, and emerging technologies, with a focus on translating complexity into intuitive experiences. He approaches design as a way to shape interactions, navigate uncertainty, and create lasting value for people and society.

Xudong Zhu

Co-founder · T.E.N

Shanghai, China

Xudong Zhu is an architect, urban designer, and co-founder of T.E.N. A RIBA Chartered Architect, he holds degrees from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Tongji University, and Politecnico di Milano. His practice spans architecture, public space, and large-scale urban design, exploring relationships among environmental resilience, cultural context, and everyday life. Alongside his work at T.E.N, he contributes to international urban design projects at Sasaki. His work received Emerging Architect of the Year recognition at the 2022 BLT Built Design Awards. He also engages in research and mentorship focused on inclusive, community-centered places.

Saurabh Shrestha

Associate in Sustainability · DIALOG

Toronto, Canada

Saurabh Shrestha is an Associate in Sustainability at DIALOG, specializing in high-performance building design. He supports multidisciplinary teams across healthcare, education, aviation, sports, and commercial projects. His technical expertise includes early-stage energy and daylight modeling, embodied carbon assessment, climate resilience, and green building certification. Through these methods, Shrestha helps teams navigate sustainability requirements and pursue measurable environmental outcomes, with an emphasis on low-carbon and resilient design.

Saket Kashyap Adhikarla

Lead Product Designer · Salesforce

Dallas, TX, USA

Saket Kashyap Adhikarla is a Lead Product Designer at Salesforce focused on enterprise AI experiences. Over more than 14 years, he has worked across design systems, enterprise products, consumer experiences, and AI at companies including Amazon, Cisco/Synamedia, and Philips. Trained in industrial design at IIT Delhi, he earned a master's degree at MIT before transitioning into UX design. His earlier work included product design awards and social entrepreneurship in waste management and traditional arts. His approach emphasizes making complex intelligent systems understandable, trustworthy, and useful.

Nashra Balagamwala

Experiential Designer · Harvard University / Nashra & Co.

Pakistan

Nashra Balagamwala is an experiential designer working across art, education, and politics. Her practice transforms sensitive cultural and political subjects into games, installations, and interactive design experiences. Recognized in Forbes' 30 Under 30 and by Fortune, she studied at Harvard University and the Rhode Island School of Design. Her work has received international coverage from outlets including the BBC, CNN, and The Guardian.

Kenny Kim

Product Manager · Autodesk

Boston, MA, USA

Kenny Kim is a Product Manager at Autodesk working on generative AI and architecture, engineering, and construction data workflows. Previously, he was a founding Product Manager at VIATechnik, where he led development of a digital twin platform, and held design roles at OMA and TAD. Kim earned a Master in Design Studies from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University.

Karen Kuo

Senior Developer · Autodesk

New York, NY, USA

Karen Kuo is a software engineer at Autodesk with a background in architecture, design, and computational methods. Her work sits at the intersection of creative technology, software systems, and emerging AI, where she develops tools and experiences that support design and collaboration. Drawing on experience in both design practice and engineering, she connects spatial thinking, computation, and product development. Her current interests include human–AI collaboration, intelligent design systems, and translating technological experiments into useful creative workflows.

Jerry Ding

Senior Manager of Design & Behavioral Intelligence · Piaggio Fast Forward

Boston, MA, USA

Jerry Ding is a designer whose work examines relationships among people, objects, and environments. Combining multidisciplinary design with behavioral research, he develops physical and digital products that respond to how people perceive, understand, and interact with the world. His practice spans product development, robot behavior, and other intelligent systems, with an emphasis on creating meaningful experiences through observation and interaction.

Heidi K. Brandow

Artist, Curator · Association for Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums

Santa Fe, NM, USA

Heidi K. Brandow (Diné, Kanaka Maoli) is a multidisciplinary artist whose work centers Indigenous stories, knowledge, and perspectives. Working across painting, drawing, textiles, and collaboration, she connects lived histories and ancestral knowledge with contemporary experience. She co-founded the Harvard Indigenous Design Collective, which advocates for Indigenous design within the discipline's history, theory, and future. Brandow holds a BFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts, studied industrial design at Istanbul Technical University, and earned a Master of Design Studies from Harvard University.

Guadalupe Babio Fernandez

Interaction designer · Samsung

San Francisco, CA, USA

Guadalupe Babio Fernandez is an interaction designer at Samsung Innovation Lab in San Francisco, where she explores future product interactions in an AI-driven world. A graduate of the MIT Media Lab with a background in architecture, she investigates how emerging technologies affect people and society. Her research and design practice bring a critical, culturally informed perspective to human-centered AI and new forms of interaction.

Gina Reimann

Industrial Design Manager · Google

Mountain View, CA, USA

Gina Reimann is an Industrial Design Manager at Google, where she leads a team developing products that integrate AI, software, and hardware. Her work has contributed to products including Pixel Watch and Pixel Buds. Before joining Google, she worked at Redscout in New York, Smart Design, and Philips Design in the Netherlands. Across these roles, she has designed for brands including Nike, OXO, and Pyrex, bringing a product-centered approach to technology and everyday experiences.

George Cave

VP Robotics · Apian

Peak District, UK

George Cave is a designer, engineer, and interaction technologist working at the intersection of robotics and healthcare. As VP of Robotics at Apian, he works on physical AI infrastructure that coordinates drones and ground robots across UK National Health Service networks. Apian's initiatives have included chemotherapy transport by drone and prescription medication delivery. Cave previously led engineering and design development for healthcare and automotive projects across Europe and has served as visiting faculty at universities in Sweden and Switzerland.

Francesco Polvi

Lead Computational Designer · Presentform

Milan, Italy

Francesco Polvi is an architect, computational designer, and researcher specializing in robotic fabrication and additive manufacturing. He earned a master's degree in architecture with honors from the University of Trieste, with collaboration from Ton Duc Thang University in Ho Chi Minh City, and pursued advanced architecture and 3D-printing studies at IAAC. Previously Computational Designer and Head of Robotic Manufacturing at LaMàquina in Barcelona, he is now Lead Computational Designer at Presentform. His work develops software-driven design-for-manufacture-and-assembly processes that connect complex geometry with feasible robotic and digital fabrication.