What is the Design Engineering Collaborative?
The Design Engineering Collaborative aims to tap into Berkeley's vast human resource pool through the implementation of an open design center. Within the framework of a highly creative approach to innovation and design, the collaborative serves as a launch pad for ideas and creativity outside of the everyday classroom environment.
Inspiration
In July 2012, two members of DEC’s founding team had the opportunity to take a tour of America’s leading engineering design firm, IDEO, with one of its founders, Dennis Boyle. The spirit of innovation and creativity in such a highly technical environment felt like an oasis in comparison to the traditional classroom/office approaches to education and problem solving. In 2005, Stanford founded their design institute, called the d.school, headed by IDEO co-founder, David Kelley. Their incredibly successful program has revamped the teaching paradigm within their university and begun to spread to schools and businesses across the nation. So we thought, “It seems wrong that a private university like Stanford can build such a space and blossom when a public university such as UC Berkeley may not be able to fit it into the budget”. The recipe for success? Simple: create a space that breeds collaboration and expression, teach cutting-edge approaches to innovation and design, and allow the natural talent of the students to flourish wildly. We knew this could be done here at Cal, and made it our mission to implement the program.
The Goal
The DEC has designed and facilitates a space which promotes forward thinking, innovation, and creativity in support of hands-on design, allows people to explore topics that they are curious or passionate about, and provides a platform through which to teach innovative processes in design and engineering. We want to connect with the entire university, by providing a mind nurturing space where professors can hold classes (especially useful for design-centered courses), student groups can meet and collaborate effectively, and interested individuals can see their creative brilliance spring to the surface. The Collaborative is a hub for innovation, creating a framework that intrinsically brings creative, intelligent, talented people together. Thriving on direct collaboration and diverse skill-sets, we do stuff.
Implementation
The founding team has begun the organizations first design project: Make the space.
The Bridges Room on UC Berkeley’s campus has been transformed into the Student Hub for Engineering and Design (SHED) - an ideal collaboration zone, a center for people to meet, think, share ideas, and create. In November 2012, the space opened for innovators. We hold weekly brainstormers every Wednesday at 8pm in the SHED. Everyone is invited to participate in our ideation sessions. If you want to get more involved, please fill out the application on this website.
Support
The Design Engineering Collaborative is officially affiliated with the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley, and supported by the College of Engineering and the Engineering Student Council along with many other campus organizations which have rallied to the movement. Our founding team has established ties with IDEO, Synapse, the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS), Stormboard, and Stanford University’s d.school.
The leadership team (in alphabetical order)
Grant Buster is a Nuclear and Mechanical Engineering Joint Major. His academic/research interests include future reactor technology such as pebble bed and thorium technology. He is also loves snow sports and was the president of the College Ski and Snowboard Club.
Adam Eastman is a fourth year Mechanical & Energy Engineering student at UC Berkeley. His independent research in green technology aims to convert wasted energy into new renewable sources. When he isn't juggling fire, he is juggling product design, mechanical engineering, design education, and graphic design.
Jared Karp is a 4th year Mechanical Engineering major with a minor in Energy Engineering. He became a licensed private pilot at the age of 18, and is an exceptional bowler. Jared's research is centered around applying creativity to develop green technologies and entrepreneurship in renewable energy.
Sam Kirschner is a Senior at Berkeley studying Mathematical Statistics. He is also interested in product development, entrepreneurship, design, computer science, and food systems. He is a Campus Ambassador for Berkeley, a data analyst at the Agriculture Resource Economics department, and a math and statistics tutor.
