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Where Liberal Arts Meets Making
The Design Initiative at Dartmouth (DIAD) is where liberal arts meets making. We bring together students and faculty from across campus—from philosophy to engineering, studio art, languages, medicine, computer science, and more—to uncover meaningful challenges and develop impactful solutions using human-centered design methods.
The result? New courses that bridge disciplinary silos, high-impact student and faculty research, and a growing community of creative problem-solvers equipped to design a better world.
Liberal Arts
Design innovation thrives on critical thinking, cultural awareness, and ethical reflection. Integrating perspectives from the arts, humanities, and social sciences, we help designers consider more than technical feasibility, but also human needs, cultural context, and societal impact. This interdisciplinary foundation helps students develop creative problem solving alongside critical judgment.
Technology
From engineering to computer science and beyond, DIAD embraces physical, digital, and mixed methods of idea development and implementation to equip learners with the technical skills and creative confidence needed to build impactful solutions to complex challenges.
Design Thinking
DIAD bridges inquiry and action to catalyze learning, scholarship, and impact. By centering human needs, embracing iteration, and prototyping solutions, we transform how Dartmouth tackles complex challenges. Our collaborative approach moves us from theoretical understanding to tangible impact—in the classroom, in research labs, and in communities.
DIAD in Action
Design Curriculum
DIAD supports faculty in creating new interdisciplinary design-based courses and infusing design methods into existing courses across campus. Our work includes:
- Courses co-developed by engineering and humanities professors
- Faculty course development grants to create new design-based curriculum across the disciplines
- Growth and development of the popular human-centered design minor
Looking for examples of DIAD-supported courses past and present? Or interested in proposing something new?
Reach out to us at design.initiative@dartmouth.edu.
Faculty and students discuss the impact of collaborating across Dartmouth to bring human-centered design tools to all corners of campus—from new courses and programs, to interdisciplinary research efforts and off-campus projects.
Funding Opportunities
Please note: We are currently revising our funding proposal process, and we expect to publish the new process here in early 2026. If you are interested in receiving funding from DIAD for a design-related project, please email us at design.initiative@dartmouth.edu.
Course Development Grant with Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning (DCAL)
Who is eligible?
All Dartmouth faculty (individuals and teams)
Funding for: Creation of a new design-based curricular module within an existing course
Amount: $1,000 stipend, plus up to $1,500 in supplies
To learn more or to apply, email us at design.initiative@dartmouth.edu.
Faculty & Staff Design Projects Grant
Who is eligible?
All Dartmouth faculty and staff (individuals and teams)
Funding for: Any interdisciplinary, design-based research or creative project
Amount: Up to $5,000
To learn more or to apply, email us at design.initiative@dartmouth.edu.
Student Independent Projects Grant
Who is eligible?
All Dartmouth students (individuals and teams)
Funding for: Any design-based project taken on outside of an existing course
Amount: Varies based on need
To learn more or to apply, email us at design.initiative@dartmouth.edu.
Research & Scholarship
DIAD catalyzes interdisciplinary and cross-sector research efforts with opportunities for students and faculty. DIAD supports and generates design-based investigations aimed at co-developing positive impact. These include:
- Design Action Groups that infuse design methods into research projects ranging from speculative fiction to whole-of-systems approaches to weight wellness, ethical digital fabrication, and more
- Training researchers across disciplines in human-centered design methods
- Faculty seed grants for design-based research
- A student independent projects fund
Interested in proposing something new?
Reach out to us at design.initiative@dartmouth.edu.
Extracurricular Learning
DIAD looks for opportunities to support students, faculty, and staff to practice design in and outside the classroom, through workshops, events, and programs.
Past examples include: public lectures by design luminaries, design workshops for student clubs and cross-campus organizations, and the Design Corps program where teams of students use human-centered design to improve life on campus.
Campus Collaborations
DIAD works with many partners across Dartmouth to foster interdisciplinary creative learning. Some of our collaborators include:
Book the DIAD Design Loft
Need a space for your design-related event? The Design Loft in the Class of 1982 Engineering and Computer Science Center is a dedicated space available to members of the Dartmouth community engaged in design-related activities.
Design Loft
Location: ECSC, Rm. 007
In this hyper-flexible multipurpose room, everything is on wheels—even the couches! Any member of the Dartmouth community can reserve it for any design-related event, including workshops, design sprints, working sessions, club meetings, presentations, exhibitions, special class meetings, and more.
Furniture: The Loft features both bar-height and standard-height tables with dozens of chairs and stools, four moveable couches, and both stationary and mobile whiteboards.
A/V Equipment: It has a standard AV setup with a projector and room speakers, as well as lecture capture and built-in Zoom Room capabilities.
The DIAD Team
Director
Beth Altringer Eagle
Distinguished Professor of Engineering Design
Area Leads
Chaki Ng
Emerging Technology Lead, and Lecturer of Design Engineering
Eugene Korsunskiy
Executive Director of Future of Design in Higher Education, Associate Professor of Engineering
Rafe Steinhauer
K-12 Lead, Assistant Professor of Engineering
Staff
Paula Olson
Design Research Project Manager, Sol Diamond Lab
Special Advisors
Solomon Diamond
Associate Professor of Engineering
Peter Robbie
Associate Professor of Engineering
Steering Committee
John Bell, Film and Media Studies
Nicola Camerlenghi, Art History
Michael Casey, Music; Computer Science
Tania Convertini, French and Italian
Mary Flanagan, Film and Media Studies
Dan Kotlowitz, Theater
Lorie Loeb, Computer Science
James Mahoney, Computer Science
Justin Mankin, Geography
Liz Murnane, Engineering Sciences
Scott Pauls, Mathematics
Elizabeth Carpenter Song, Anthropology
Rafe Steinhauer, Engineering Sciences
Zenovia Toloudi, Studio Art
Tricia Treacy, Studio Art
Tim Tregubov, Computer Science
Jacque Wernimont, Digital Humanities; Film and Media Studies
Thalia Wheatley, Psychological and Brain Sciences
Jack Wilson, Studio Art; Engineering Sciences
Contact
Have questions or would like to talk about a design-related idea? We’d love to hear from you!
Email us at design.initiative@dartmouth.edu.