Research Seminar: Panos Papalambros
May 12, 2025
3:00 p.m. CAT
Virtual
Designing in the Designed World: A Journey from Design Optimization to Design Science
Speaker: Panos Y. Papalambros, special faculty in the Center for Inclusive Digital Transformation in Africa
Abstract: Design is how we humans change the world. Increasingly we live in a designed world dominated by human-made physical and digital artifacts. We have been designing this world aiming to optimize some measure of a desirable outcome. But what is desirable, and to whom? Design Science studies the creation of artifacts and the impact of embedding them in our physical, psychological, economic, social and digital environments. Design science goes beyond traditional design thinking and aims to inform how we address problems in a technology-driven society and how we can contribute to their positive resolution – design a better world for all. I trace the evolution of how we have viewed design over time through some personal examples and I advocate building a broad community for rigorous, yet pragmatic, design scholarship transcending the traditional disciplinary boundaries.
Upcoming Events
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December 11-17 2025
Carnegie Mellon University Africa
2025 African - Inclusive Digital Industries School Program
This program offers an intensive learning experience designed to deepen knowledge and skills in key areas such as artificial intelligence and machine learning applied to material engineering, digital manufacturing, and optimization techniques.