Design Initiative at Dartmouth
Dartmouth · 2025–present
Role · Inaugural Director · Anonymous Distinguished Professor of Design Engineering
In 1987, studio art met engineering in a single course at Dartmouth, Introduction to Product Design, created by Peter Robbie. It became ENGS 12: Design Thinking, which he still teaches. In 2014 it became the foundation of the Human-Centered Design minor, which by 2026 was the most popular minor on campus. Over time, a community of faculty deeply dedicated to quality teaching grew around the minor, teaching design to students from every major, and that community founded the Design Initiative at Dartmouth.
The premise has held since the first course: design is a liberal art, and it is most powerful when paired with another field. Students keep their major and add design to it.
In Fall 2025, we studied how rapidly design work has been changing and launched several pilots based on that research, aimed at expanding what we offer. As the pilots matured, we developed an emerging pedagogical framework and new courses, and began building complementary studio capabilities: AI-native collaborative intelligence alongside traditional industrial design. These build on a strong foundation and expand what students with exciting thinking and ideas can do and make.
