Co-Founder, Designer | Upsided
Rongyu Na is a research-led industrial designer and social entrepreneur with a background in transportation design. He is the co-founder of Upsided, a sustainable material lab that aims to provide viable solutions to reduce embodied and operational carbon in buildings. Upsided offers unique manufacturing methods that can handle diverse materials and forms, providing consistent material output from agricultural waste. Meanwhile, he is pursuing a dual Master's degree in Design Engineering (MADE) at Brown University and RISD (Rhode Island School of Design), where he is learning tangible ways to streamline creative collaboration across design and engineering fields for positive impacts.
Rongyu has extensive experience in research, design innovation, and design strategy. Previously, he worked as an industrial designer at Amazon Lab126, focusing on technology development. Currently, he is exploring cross-disciplinary areas through the MADE Program, combining design with material science, environmental studies, sustainability investment, anthropology, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, system design, and biomedical engineering.
Design isn't just a profession for Rongyu; it's a passion that drives him to explore the unknown, challenge the status quo, blend disciplines, and push the boundaries of innovation. He aims to create products that act as catalysts for curiosity, helping dreamers of our time to pursue their lifelong endeavors, enabling more exploration, and more positive impacts.
