Professor and Director, School of Design, Rochester Institute of Technology
Currently a Professor and Director, School of Design at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Alex Lobos is an esteemed design educator with over 20 years of experience. His portfolio includes numerous authored publications, keynote lectures, and grant acquisitions from industry partners. Beyond his academic achievements, Alex is an accomplished design practitioner with notable contributions and patents to his name. His commitment to inclusivity and sustainability in design has earned him prestigious awards, including the Richard & Virginia Eisenhart Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Fusion 360 Education Award.
According to one of his nominators, “Alex has not only been at the forefront of promoting the inclusion and celebration of LatinX contributions to the field of Industrial Design, but he also leads conversations on neurodivergence and design, a topic that is often overlooked. He has an international reputation as a supportive and passionate professor, designer, and design mentor.”
In 2022, Alex participated in several IDSA events focused on elevating visibility for differently abled designers. Alex himself identifies as autistic and is learning to leverage his unique strengths that come from that condition in his work as a designer and educator. Some of his recent presentations and discussions include focusing on changing the way design is taught so that it can better accommodate designers with different physical and cognitive abilities.
Statement of Candidacy, Education Director
IDSA has always been integral to my career, from landing internships and full-time jobs at District Design Conferences to developing lifelong, professional connections and friendships. I’ve also been able to contribute to IDSA as an IDEA juror, conference speaker, Education Symposium paper reviewer, faculty advisor for IDSA Student Chapters—and currently—I’m leading the planning committee for the Northeast District Design Conference 2018, which will be held at RIT.
My main goal as Education Director would be to help other members connect better with IDSA and to represent the voice of students and educators throughout our organization. I would encourage all of you to share your ideas with me on how together we can raise the role of education within IDSA. I would also like to increase the importance that design research has within our discipline and to find more ways to connect it to industry. Lastly, I would love to explore together with all of you the transformation that design education is experiencing as it moves into the future.
Hybrid Ideation & Fabrication
Debates continue on how the use of digital tools often compromises design integrity, form exploration and empathy. Nonetheless, the digital tools of design continue to evolve at a dramatic pace, but often are underutilized.
Alex Lobos, IDSA, details the methodologies employed and the results of a year-long collaboration among a top industrial design program, a leading software company and many open minds to explore the integration of analog and digital tools in design, blending the best of each to maximize the effect with both.
