Shared Conversations Across Design

Claudia Eckert is a Senior Lecturer in Design at the Open University, the British distance education university. After a PhD conducting her doctoral research on communication and inspiration in knitwear design, she spent 10 years in the Engineering Design Centre in Cambridge, where she conducted empirical studies in engineering change and processes planning and collaborated on the developed of support tools. Comparisons between different design domains has become a focus of her research.

Alan Blackwell is reader in interdisciplinary design at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory, having prior qualifications in professional engineering, computing and experimental psychology. Before starting his academic career, he had twelve years experience of designing industrial systems, electronic and software products, and is founder and co-director, since 2001, of the Crucible network for research in interdisciplinary design.

Louis Bucciarelli is now emeritus, and holds a joint appointment with MIT's School of Engineering and the Program in Science, Technology and Society. He is the author of Designing Engineers (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1994).

Chris Earl is Dean of Faculty in Mathematics, Computing and Technology at the Open University, UK. Previously Chris was Head of Department of Design and Innovation and was appointed as Professor of Engineering Product Design in 2000. His research interests include generative and computational design methods, design processes across domains as well as planning and scheduling Design and Manufacturing processes. Before joining the Open University, Chris was with the Newcastle University Engineering Design Centre. He has a PhD in Design from the Open University and graduated from Oxford with BA, MSC in Mathematics.