Three Interdisciplinary Projects Receive Design Initiative Funding

A shrine in Southwest Nigeria, designed by Susanne Wenger and her Nigerian collaborators. (Photo courtesy of Adedoyin Teriba)

"I'm delighted to see how faculty and staff from all corners of campus are using design methods to seed and scaffold creative collaboration," says Eugene Korsunskiy, associate professor of engineering and DIAD co-director.

The framing, approach, and design of each project is unique:

Storing Images of Divine Nigerian Architecture in a (Digital) Cloud

Adedoyin Teriba, assistant professor of art history, and Xiaoyao Fan, assistant professor of engineering, are bringing the study of religious sculptures and modern architecture in West Africa together with the study of digital image processing techniques for a course that bridges their disciplines. Professor Teriba and a student are traveling to Austria and Nigeria this summer to capture aerial images of important religious and architectural contributions of Susanne Wenger. This archive will be added to Teriba's courses in modern architectural history and modern and contemporary architecture in West Africa. Students in Professor Fan's ENGS 111: Digital Image Processing class will then analyze and enhance the images while also learning some art history from Teriba, who will introduce the work's historical and cultural significance to the engineering students.

Prepare to Launch: DYL courses for Dartmouth first-gen undergraduates

Janice Williams, associate director of the First-Generation Office Prepare-to-Launch (P2L) Program, is incorporating "designing your life" (DYL) programming into P2L to provide more targeted career support for first-generation students. DYL, a design-rooted methodology of life and career navigation, has already been integrated into some components of the Dartmouth Engineering curriculum. Williams plans to integrate DYL into P2L's programming this Fall, providing space, resources, and individual instruction that aims to teach students to "think like designers—with adaptability and curiosity—so they may build a love for trying things and solving life's wicked problems," says Williams.

Navajo Rug Weaving

Laurie Furch, department administrator for Native American and Indigenous Studies, Jayde Xu, Hood Museum Fellow, and Jacquline Wernimont, associate professor of film and media studies and Distinguished Chair of Digital Humanities and Social Engagement, will use the funding to bring internationally renowned fifth-generation Navajo weavers Lynda Teller Pete and Barbara Teller Ornelas to campus for a multi-day workshop. Open to a small group of faculty, staff, and community members from July 14–19, the workshop will provide an experience of cross-disciplinary hands-on learning.

Their proposal states, "Weaving involves engineering of looms, which can be as simple as branches suspended from trees to make clothing or rugs, to complex machinery that can be used in cardiovascular applications—such as an aortic abdominal aneurysm graft or a heart valve skirt—or for orthopedic injuries. Weaving patterns can be as basic as those done by preschoolers or wildly elaborate, such as jacquard; it's both a science and an art. Across fields of study, we also hope to prioritize and center an Indigenous way of knowing to make all our work better culturally informed. For participants, our hope is that this workshop will provide a tactile learning experience that actualizes concepts across studies."

For more information about this workshop, contact Laurie Furch, laurie.l.furch@dartmouth.edu.

DIAD's next faculty and staff design project grant cycle will occur this summer with an application deadline of June 30, 2024. Questions? email design.initiative@dartmouth.edu.