NEGAR KALANTAR

I’m a design researcher, creative technologist, and educator working at the intersection of computational design, material systems, and advanced fabrication. I develop methods that connect design with the behavior of materials, environmental conditions, and human knowledge. My work asks how computation can help us work with complexity—from irregular natural materials and biological processes to the needs and knowledge of local communities.

I am a tenured Associate Professor and Co-Director of the Digital Craft Lab at California College of the Arts in San Francisco. Across research, teaching, and practice, I build collaborations among designers, engineers, scientists, industry partners, and communities to turn shared questions into prototypes, tools, and approaches to making. As PI or Co-PI, I have helped secure more than $1.2 million in funded research, with support including the National Science Foundation and Autodesk Technology Centers.

My research is organized around Embedded Intelligence: the idea that intelligence resides in materials, geometry, tools, craft practices, and environments, as well as computational systems. Through adaptive structures, robotic manufacturing, biomaterials, and regenerative construction, I investigate how these forms of intelligence can inform more resource-conscious and responsive ways of designing and building. My recent work extends this inquiry through international collaborations connecting laboratory research with local materials, knowledge, and environmental challenges.

Building the conditions for collaborative research is central to my work. I co-founded and co-lead CCA’s Academic Alliance with Autodesk Technology Centers, creating sustained opportunities for faculty and students to work alongside industry researchers. My experience also includes collaborations with Perkins&Will, Gensler, and SOM, connecting experimental research with questions of fabrication, construction, and practical application.

I believe research belongs at the core of design education, beginning in its earliest stages. Through teaching at CCA, Texas A&M, and Virginia Tech, and studios including tranSTUDIO and Robotic Craft, I connect computational thinking with material experimentation and hands-on inquiry. Students learn to frame questions, test ideas, and understand the environmental and social consequences of their design decisions.

I am also a founding partner of NYFT.Design, where I explore computational design through objects and interactive products. Across these activities, I connect research with practice and build partnerships that expand what designers, technologies, and materials can accomplish together.