MDes Alumni Design Fellows

The Master of Design (MDes) Alumni Design Fellows are graduates of the MDes program who are dedicated mentors and volunteers for the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation. The Fellows provide professional development support and consult on a range of topics based on their areas of interest and expertise. They also host workshops, participate in critiques in MDes courses and end of semester showcases, attend community events, and support MDes courses. 

MDes students and instructors for the program are encouraged to directly contact MDes Alumni Design Fellows for advice and collaboration (see contact info below).

The MDes Alumni Design Fellows for the 2024-2025 academic year are:

	Akash Mahajan Design Analyst at McKinsey & Co. Akash is a Design Analyst and Business Building Specialist at McKinsey & Co., where he has collaborated with multiple Fortune 500 companies to craft innovative user experiences and integrate human-centered design principles to launch new ventures. He has facilitated workshops and presented design impact to leaders from diverse industries like EVs, consumer, and healthcare. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Production & Industrial Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, and a Master's in Design from Berkeley, from where he graduated in December 2022. Previously he has also co-founded an education technology startup in India. His interdisciplinary background drives his passion for deploying emerging technologies like AI, AR/VR, and brain-computer interfaces to create products that enhance human-centered experiences.	Get in touch with Akash via email (akash_mahajan@berkeley.edu) to schedule an office hour. Add him on LinkedIn
	Benal Johnson Designer at Tellart Benal is a multidisciplinary designer with experience across industrial design, design strategy, UX/UI, tangible user interfaces, and speculative design. This combination of skills provides Benal the opportunity to design and communicate across disciplines in all types of projects and clients. As a designer at Tellart, Benal brings these skills together to shape different parts of each project, whether it be defining the guest experience of an installation or identifying the right aesthetic finishes for a space. She is always exploring the intersection between traditional craft and emerging technology through her personal and professional projects.	Get in touch with Benal via email (benal_johnson@berkeley.edu) to schedule an office hour. Add her on LinkedIn
	Effie Jia Designer at Adobe MINT Effie creates objects and experiences that connect humans, machines, and the environment. She is a designer on the Adobe MINT (Machine Intelligence and New Technologies) team and was previously at Facet.ai, working on generative AI tools for creatives. Other interests include physical fabrication, audiovisual art, and spatial design. She received her Master of Design from UC Berkeley and Bachelor of Science degrees in Architecture and Art + Design from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a focus in sustainability. Learn more about her work here: https://effiejia.com/	Get in touch with Effie via email (effiewangjia@gmail.com) or book a meeting with her during her office hours. Add her on LinkedIn
	Georgios Grigoriadis Senior Technologist at Butlr Georgios Grigoriadis is a Designer and an Architect (of things), working with emerging technologies, future making and fabrication. He uses digital, physical tools and machines to design and build spaces, objects, experiences, worlds, words and tell stories about them. He holds a Master of Design (MDes) from UC Berkeley and a Diploma (Master & Bachelor) of Architecture and Architecture Engineering from the School of Architecture of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. There, he was a researcher at the Innovative Environments research cluster working on several European research projects, and academic related activities in the School of Architecture. George is the co-founder of the space design practice GHOST office (no place specific, 2019) and one of the founding members of the creative collective xyzzy (Thessaloniki, 2015-2018). He has been a member of the Technical Chamber of Greece since 2019. He is currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is a Senior Design Technologist at Butlr Technologies.	Get in touch with Georgios by email (ggrigoriadis@berkeley.edu) or book a meeting with him during his office hours Add him on LinkedIn
	Jan-Simon Veicht Head of Design, America at Schoolab Jan is Head of Design at Schoolab, a global innovation company dedicated to designing a brighter future around impact and sustainability. He works at the intersection between education, entrepreneurship, and corporate innovation. As an industrial designer, he has worked in the luxury consumer goods industry for many years, designing accessories and lifestyle products for European and American fashion houses. He received his BA in Industrial Design from the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, graduated from the Berkeley Masters of Design in Emerging Technologies, and teaches Design & Innovation in the Berkeley Changemaker program at Berkeley Haas School of Business. You can learn more about his work here: www.jansimonveicht.com	Get in touch with Jan via email (jan.veicht@berkeley.edu) to schedule an office hour. Add him on LinkedIn
	Justin Trainor Product Designer at Sigma Computing Justin is a Product Designer at Sigma Computing, helping organizations deliver self service analytics to their employees. He enjoys working at the intersection of design and strategy, where he is able to influence every aspect of a product's lifecycle. Justin holds a BS in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Virginia and a Masters of Design from UC Berkeley. In the past, Justin has built products ranging from high-precision surgical tools to ML modeling software through a mix of both physical and digital design. Justin enjoys exploring how nature influences our world and how we can use it to build better technologies for the future.	Book a meeting with him during his office hours Add him on LinkedIn
	Tomas Garcia Tomas Garcia is a designer dedicated to exploring the intersection of emerging technology and physical craft, and its potential to enhance the human experience. As a proud alumnus of the third MDes cohort and holding a BA in History from Boston University, Tomas' cross-disciplinary journey through technology, art, and design fuels his fascination with how human creations and creativity have the ability to shape culture.	Get in touch with Tomas via email (tomasgarcia@berkeley.edu) or book a meeting with him during his office hours Add him on LinkedIn
	Wonjoon Oh Design Engineer at DGTL. Wonjoon is a Mechanical Design Engineer, Creative Technologist, and Prototyping Expert who leverages extensive experience on emerging technologies to create high fidelity prototypes. He's experienced in interactive media art, automobile, and robotics, and is recognized for his skills in rapid prototyping, physical computing, and design for manufacturing and assembly. He's currently a Design Engineer at DGTL., a human centered design and technology integration studio based out of Portland.	Book a meeting with him during his office hours Add him on LinkedIn