About Us

We are an association of individuals across the world who deeply care about design: How we create new artefacts and systems, how we think about this creation process, and what is the impact of human-created artefacts on the world we live in and on ourselves. We express our caring for design through our efforts in research, education, practice, and outreach.

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Leadership and Team

Board of Management

The Board of Management is the Governing body of the Society and is responsible for managing the business of the Society. On particular matters, the Board of Management may delegate powers to appropriate bodies or individuals to act on behalf of the Society.

The Board of Management comprises five elected members of the Society including the President, Vice President and Secretary. The members of the Board of Management are elected by the members of the Society at the General Meeting, which is called every two years during the ICED conferences. The normal term of a Board of Management member is four years with the opportunity to serve for one further term.

The terms of the Board of Management ensure at least two members are subject to election every two years to provide continuity and rotation of the board.

The office of the President is limited to two terms of two years.

The officers of the Board of Management are decided by the Advisory Board, based on a proposal by the Board of Management.

Current Board of Management

President

Kristin Paetzold-Byhain

I am Professor of Virtual Product Development at TU Dresden and head the Chair of the same name. In teaching, I am involved in basic training in mechanical engineering and am responsible for training in product development. My research focuses on the design of data and information flows in development processes. The main aim here is to prepare and utilise the potential of new data-driven methods for the diverse tasks involved in developing mechatronic systems. Another focus is on the analysis and description of human behaviours during development. The aim is to utilise knowledge of how developers work to develop methods. I am co-chair of the SIG Human Behaviour in Design. I have been on the Design Society Board of Management since 2019 and am responsible for member support.

Vice President & Treasurer

Anja Maier

Anja M Maier, PhD, is Professor of Engineering Systems Design and Head of Department Design, Manufacturing and Engineering Management at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK and also at DTU-Technical University of Denmark, where she was Head of Engineering Systems Design, Department of Technology, Management and Economics. She holds a PhD degree in Engineering Design from the University of Cambridge, UK, and a Master’s of Arts degree in political science, communication science, and philosophy. Her research focuses on engineering systems design, with a particular emphasis on complexity and human behaviour. This includes design communication, network-based modelling and analysis in design, and design cognition. Prof. Maier serves on the Board of Management of The Design Society, on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Engineering Design, as Associate Editor of the journal Design Science, is a member of the International Council on Systems Engineering, a Fellow of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, a Board member of the Copenhagen Center for Health Technology (Cachet), and a member of acatech - the National Academy of Science and Engineering, Germany and a member of the ATV – the Danish Academy of Technical Sciences, Denmark. She works in close collaboration with industry and public organisations, predominantly in cleantech and healthcare, and has worked as a technical consultant in the manufacturing and software industries.

Secretary

Ola Isaksson

MSc (-93) and PhD (-99) from Luleå University of Technology Sweden. Career as a specialist (1994-2016) in engineering design and product development in Volvo Aero that became GKN Aerospace engine systems in 2012. Associate and Adjunct professor in Functional Product Development at LTU between 2007-2012. Adjunct professor at Chalmers University of Technology 2012-2015 and became a full professor in Engineering Design and Systems Development in 2015, now leading the Systems Engineering Design research group at the Division of Product Development at the Department of Industrial and Materials Science at Chalmers. Broad interest in theories, practices, methods, tools and processes that improve product development ability, yet research focuses primarily on modelling support for engineering design in a systems context. Design Automation, Knowledge Engineering, Set Based Engineering, Functional Modelling, Value Modelling and how to utilize these methods when integrating new technologies into complex engineered systems. Co-director for the Area of Advance PRODUCTION at Chalmers University of technology A Design Society Board of Management (BM) member and Co-Chair of the Design Practice SIG.

Member

Mario Štorga

I am the Head of the Chair of the Design and Product Development at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the Naval Architecture of the University of Zagreb Croatia and visiting professor at the Product Innovation group at the Luleå University of Technology Sweden. My research and teaching concern product development methods and tools, data-driven design, knowledge and information management, complex-socio technical systems, technology evolution, and teamwork modeling and simulations. After serving as a member of the DS AB from 2011, I started my service in the Board of Management in 2021.

Joshua Summers

Dr. Joshua D. Summers is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Texas at Dallas. He earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Arizona State University, focusing on design automation, and holds B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he worked on virtual reality-based submarine design. Dr. Summers brings over two decades of academic leadership experience, including prior roles as Department Head, Director of Graduate Studies, and Director of Education for a university-wide advanced manufacturing center. His research – funded by over $22 million from NASA, NSF, the US Army, BMW, Michelin, and others – centers on collaborative design, knowledge management, and computational design enablers. He has authored more than 400 peer-reviewed publications and advised over 90 graduate students, many of whom now hold academic positions across the US and internationally. A recognized innovator in engineering education, Dr. Summers has introduced new curricula, restructured capstone and advising programs, and led the development of novel interdisciplinary degree pathways. His contributions have been honored with awards from ASME, SAE, TMCE, and the South Carolina Governor’s Office.

Ex-officio Past President

Gaetano Cascini

I'm a mechanical engineer and Professor of Engineering Design at Politecnico di Milano. My research interests cover methods and technologies supporting design creativity and innovation, as well as the behaviour of humans while designing. These interests also reflect my courses at university and innovation projects in industry. After several years dedicated to the Design Creativity Special Interest Group, I was elected to the Board of Management in 2017 and served as President for the 2023-2025 term.

Previous Boards of Management can be seen here.

Advisory Board

The Advisory Board advises, guides and supports the Board of Management in developing and furthering the aim and objectives of the Society by advising the Board of Management on the direction and strategy of the Society and by generating and providing feedback on particular proposals for development.

The Advisory Board consists of up to twenty-seven members of the Society. The Advisory Board is elected by the members of the Society to serve for a term of six years with the opportunity to serve for one further term. Election candidates must be supported by ten nominations from members before they can stand for election.

The Advisory Board is managed by a Chair who is responsible for organising the annual meeting of the Advisory Board. The office of the Chair is held for two years, with the opportunity to serve for one additional term of two years. The Chair of the Advisory Board is agreed by the members of the Advisory Board, in close communication with the Board of Management.

To support and to cover for the Chair in any eventuality of absence or longer inability to carry out the duties of the Chair, a Deputy Chair of the Advisory Board is also appointed by the same process as the Chair.