College of Design Assistant Professor Ji Youn Shin is leading a University of Minnesota research partnership to develop collaborative robots that help small-scale farmers adopt sustainable growing practices and improve efficiency. Working with mechanical engineering faculty and the Hmong American Farmers Association, the team will design and test technology shaped by farmers’ needs and traditional agricultural knowledge.

The National Science Foundation has awarded Associate Professor Carlye Lauff (Product Design) an EArly-concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) to characterize how prototype testing sessions generate actionable design knowledge during early-stage product innovation.

Richard Graves, associate professor of architecture and research director at the Center for Sustainable Building Research (CSBR), has received the University of Minnesota’s Innovation Impact Case Award for advancing sustainable building practices. His work helped shape the Minnesota B3 Sustainable Building Guidelines, launched in response to the state’s Next Generation Energy Act to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Today, B3 continues to set the standard for energy efficiency, resilience, and net-zero goals in state-funded buildings.

Each year, the College of Design proudly honors exceptional students, faculty, and staff whose remarkable contributions have enriched our academic community. Award recipients are nominated across multiple categories by their peers, including faculty, students, and staff.

Assistant Professor of Architecture Dingliang Yang has been named a recipient of the 2025-2027 McKnight Land-Grant Professorship, marking the first time a U of M architecture faculty member has received this prestigious award since its establishment in 1987.

Pig’s Eye Lake at the Mississippi River in St. Paul, a site of historical pollution with significant Indigenous heritage and ecological importance, will serve as a catalyst project of the “Soft-Urban Riverfront: A New Paradigm for Headwater Metropolises” studio. 

This prestigious award goes to one architectural educator, nationally, each year. The last University of Minnesota educator to win it was Ralph Rapson in 1987.

The College of Design is thrilled to have three award recipients featured in the 2021 Alumni Award Affair presented by the University and the University of Minnesota Alumni Association (UMAA). All three recipients will be recognized during the UMAA Alumni Awards Affair on Thursday, September 23.

Professor Tasoulla Hadjiyanni (Interior Design) has been selected as the Imagine Fund 2021–2023 Arts, Design, and Humanities (ADH) Chair.

The retail merchandising program is proud to share that, as part of its 2020 Retail Connect event, it was able to provide individual scholarships to six current retail students: Courtney Clark, Caroline Geiger, Pei Jet Teh, Olivia Rein, Annie Skogen, and Kersten Wetterstrom.