Faculty & Advising

Faculty Advisory Council

MAD convenes a Faculty Advisory Council, composed of design-engaged faculty from across the Institute. This group helps guide MAD’s priorities and ensures that our work continues to reflect the richness and breadth of MIT’s design community.

Advising & Mentorship

Faculty play an essential role in MAD’s educational community. Through the DesignPlus First-Year Learning Community, faculty members serve as advisors and mentors to first-year students exploring design from multiple perspectives. These advising relationships help students build confidence, ask better questions, and find meaningful pathways through MIT’s design ecosystem.

Named Professorships

To support faculty leadership in design, MAD has appointed three professors to newly established chairs:

• Behnaz Farahi, Assistant Professor, Media Arts and Sciences; Director, Critical Matter Group, MIT Media Lab
• Skylar Tibbits, Associate Professor, Architecture; Co-Founder and Director, MIT Self-Assembly Lab; Assistant Director for Education, Morningside Academy for Design (MAD)
• David Wallace, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, MacVicar Faculty Fellow, Class of 1960 Innovation in Education Fellow

These professorships recognize outstanding contributions to teaching, research, and the advancement of design at MIT.

Faculty Opportunities

MAD offers a range of ways for faculty to engage:

• Designing for Sustainability
  In partnership with the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany, this initiative supports joint research, exchange, and collaboration around sustainable design.
• Call for Design Curriculum
  MAD periodically invites proposals for new or reimagined design courses. While the current cycle is closed, future calls will continue to support innovative approaches to design education.
• Partner with MAD on Events
  Faculty are welcome to propose public-facing events—talks, panels, workshops, exhibitions—for MAD to co-host or support.

Faculty Publications

MAD showcases work by faculty who are advancing design thinking, research, and pedagogy. This includes publications by our founding director John Ochsendorf, faculty director Maria Yang, and others affiliated with MAD.