The Centre of Design Innovation is comprised of experienced researchers grounded by practice. Our team are passionate about working with end-users, businesses and government to transform innovative ideas into reality.

Here you’ll learn about different team members, their roles and how to make contact to start a collaboration or partnership together.

Leadership team

Academic staff

Name 
Position 
Research Area 
Email 
Associate Professor Carolyn Barnes Associate Professor, Communication Design Service Design, Public Good Design, Strategic & Transformative Design: Design Thinking cbarnes@swinburne.edu.au
Professor Jane Burry  
Dean, School of Design  
Mathematics and computing in contemporary architecture  
jburry@swinburne.edu.au  
Professor Mark Burry AO 
Director, Smart Cities Institute  
Complex Architecture and Convergent Design  
mburry@swinburne.edu.au  
Dr Dylan Davis Lecturer, Communication Design Interaction Design, Digital Storytelling ddavis@swinburne.edu.au
Associate Professor Boris Eisenbart  
Course Director – Product Design Engineering  
Design process and methods, Industry 4.0  
beisenbart@swinburne.edu.au  
Professor Lisa Given Professor, Information Science Information Behaviour, User Experience Design, Research Practice & Impact lgiven@swinburne.edu.au
Associate Professor Daniel Huppatz Associate Professor, Architectural and Industrial Design Design History, Philosophy, and Theory dhuppatz@swinburne.edu.au
Professor Blair Kuys Associate Dean Research, School of Design and Architecture Product Design, Product Diversity, Productivity Design bkuys@swinburne.edu.au
Dr Abdullah Al Mahmud  
Deputy Academic Director: Research Training  
Design research, human-computer interaction  
aalmahmud@swinburne.edu.au  
Professor Rachael McDonald  
Department Chair, Health & Medical Sciences  
Health, disability and assistive technology  
rachaelmcdonald@swinburne.edu.au
Dr Diego Muñoz  Research Fellow Motivational modelling, ageing research, human-computer interaction dmunoz@swinburne.edu.au
Dr Belinda Paulovich Lecturer, Communication and participatory co-design Design for Health and Wellbeing, Participatory and Codesign, Information Design bpaulovich@swinburne.edu.au
Dr Charlie Ranscombe  
Senior Lecturer, Industrial Design and Product Design Engineering  
Ergonomics and aesthetics  
cranscombe@swinburne.edu.au  
Professor Gianni Renda  
Deputy Chair, Department of Architectural and Industrial Design  
Design for health, inclusive design  
grenda@swinburne.edu.au  
Professor Emeritus Leon Sterling Professor Emeritus Software Engineering, Agent-based systems, Human Computer Interactions lsterling@swinburne.edu.au
Professor Mark Taylor  
Professor of Architecture  
Design innovation, architecture  
marktaylor@swinburne.edu.au  
Associate Professor Christine Thong  
Academic Director, Design Factory Melbourne Industrial design, Design innovation   cthong@swinburne.edu.au 
Dr Ian Woodcock  
Senior Lecturer, Urban Design  
Sustainable mobilities design, urban design  
iwoodcook@swinburne.edu.au  
Associate Professor Nicki Wragg Associate Dean Education, School of Design and Architecture Strategic & Transformative Design, Design Research Education nwragg@swinburne.edu.au

Advisory board

Tina Hogarth-Clarke 

CEO, COTA Victoria 
Advisor to Future Self Living Lab 

Sarah Bridges 

Principal Design Integrator, AURECON
Advisor to Urban Design Architecture 

Jeremy Yuille  

Principal, Meld Studios 
Advisor to Service Design and Organisational Design 

Professor Voytek Gutowski 

CSIRO Fellow 
Advisor of Scientific Content and Advanced Manufacturing 

Carla Zampaglione

Director, Sento Solutions
Advisor to Human Centred Product Design

Adjunct fellows

Name
Position
Research Area
Dr Hwee Boon Jeanie Beh
Research Fellow – Centre for Design Innovation
User centred co-design
Dr Michael Lo Bianco
Director of Product & Service Design, Minneapolis, USA 
Design for Health 
Mr Gareth Priday Co-director Australian Living Lab Innovation Network (ALLiN) Living Lab approach, co-design, foresight
Dr Agustin Chevez Bernaldo De Quiros 
Senior Researcher. HASSELL. Melbourne, Australia 
Workplace architecture 
Professor Emeritus Leon Sterling 
Professor Emeritus. Swinburne University of Technology. Melbourne, Australia 
Computer Human Interaction 
Professor Steffen Walz
Professor of Design/Art in the School of Design and Art at Curtin University
Games and experimental design
Gigi Fook Chi Wong 
Executive Director, COO. King’s Flair (Group) Development Limited, Hong Kong 
Product innovation, manufacturing 

PhD candidates in design and other disciplines

Family name First given name Thesis title Principal coordinating supervisor
Arevalo
Nataly 
Bridging Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) with Fear-of-Crime: A Micro-scale Approach
Professor Mark Taylor
Brewer
Scott
The benefits and opportunity of digital technology on the fields of spatial and interior design in spaces built for public use
Professor Jeni Paay
Chai
Boon Xian
Process modelling and optimization of Resin Transfer Moulding for composites manufacturing. 
A/Professor Boris Eisenbart
Chen
Canhui
Affordable sophistication: Investigating reusing, repurposing and upcycling in architecture through exploiting computational design and digital fabrication.
Professor Mark Burry AO
Chia
Nicholas
University-Industry collaboration: A case study on improving new product development with small and medium enterprises.
Professor Blair Kuys
Choy
Sonny
Expanding industrial design’s contribution to Hong Kong manufacturers: why the ‘Balanced Scorecard for industrial design management’ is pragmatic.
Professor Blair Kuys
Constantin
Kathy
Move naturally: Increasing the wellbeing of retirees through engaging their natural movement identity.
A/Professor Sonja Pedell
Deighton
Kathryn
What is the value and 21st century relevance of current Industrial Design education practice across primary, secondary, TAFE and university education levels in Australia?
Professor Blair Kuys
Gutowski
Matthew
High-Tech Modular Building Components with High Contents of Australian Hardwoods
Professor Blair Kuys
Iskandar
Sonya
Beyond Vision: Spatial Design for People with Visual Impairments
Professor Mark Taylor
Koch
Christoph
The future of industrial design and its role in Industry 4.0
Professor Blair Kuys
Maluleem
Kassameerat
Investigating the design elements of typicality and novelty to enhance the appeal of souvenirs.
Professor Blair Kuys
Maluleem
Kassamarat
Investigating the significance of typicality and novelty. 
Professor Blair Kuys
Melles
Fanni
Making future cities smart by supporting future city designers in smart design. 
Professor Jeni Paay
Mesa
David
Contributions of Product Design to Scientific Research: Taking early-stage technologies to market. A case study with graphene supercapacitors. 
A/Professor Christine Thong
Moulton
Leon
Curtains are not soundproof: Emergency departments, built environments and mental health disorders.
Professor Mark Taylor
Perera
Ethmadalage
Eco-centric urban design approach for peri-urban water resource planning: A common framework of regenerative design. Special reference to; traditional cascade system in Sri Lanka
A/Professor Gavin Melles
Rautray
Priyabrata
Design of affordable passenger drone suitable for personal mobility in India's growing cities
A/Professor Boris Eisenbart
Rodda
Jacob
Designing hedonic haptic aesthetic for improved user experience to augment material selection in the design process.
Professor Blair Kuys
Rutten
Julian
Making Places for Plants through Computational Observation, Analysis and Simulation
Professor Mark Burry AO
Suhaimi
Safia Najwa Binti
Investigating the Significance of Typicality and Novelty in the Visual Design of Industrial Products
Professor Blair Kuys
Tan
Lihuang Linus
Identifying, articulating and translating design values to influence business practice in knowledge-centered architecture firms.
Professor Jane Burry
Trevena
Lee
Enhancing training practices in the disability sector using augmented reality technology
Professor Jeni Paay
Vettorello
Mattia
Advancing Anticipatory Systems (AS): Strategically navigating uncertainties and ambiguity to drive new growth strategies
A/Professor Boris Eisenbart
Wang
Jing
Thinking and Doing Design: Integrating novel innovation approaches with established design practices
Dr Charles Ranscombe
Wangzom
Dorji
Built environment and perception of traffic safety for children’s active school travel. 
Professor Marcus White
Wichmann
Robert Lawrence
Supporting Concept Assessment of Risk to Function Fulfillment in Evolutionary Engineering Design. 
Professor Blair Kuys
Wickramarathne
TharushiIndeewari
Thermal Comfort of Endurance Athletes and the Role of Smart Textiles
Dr Abdullah Al Mahmud
Zhang
Zhi
E-Government Services for the Elderly
Professor Jeni Paay

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We always welcome new partners. If you are interested in transforming ideas into commercially competitive outcomes, need the support of our research or have any other queries, contact us on +61 3 9214 6072 or email cdiadmin@swinburne.edu.au.

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