Matthew Wettergreen, director of Rice University’s MBE Programs (Applied Bioengineering and Global Medical Innovation) and teaching professor in the Department of Bioengineering and the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen, is creating new opportunities for engineering design practitioners in North America to connect to the global design community.
Wettergreen recently relaunched the Design Society’s North American Chapter (NAC) and serves as the chapter’s co-chair, alongside Carlye Lauff, McKnight Land-Grant Professor, co-director of CoLab, and graduate program director of product design at the University of Minnesota.
The Design Society is a worldwide community that connects researchers, educators, and practitioners across the globe to advance the science and practice of design. In addition to regional initiatives, the society hosts a biennial International Conference on Engineering Design to foster international academia–industry collaboration, most recently held for the first time in the United States at the University of Texas - Dallas, where Wettergreen presented work from his long-running course EDES 210: Prototyping and Fabrication.
Wettergreen and Lauff hosted a virtual chapter kickoff event on Jan. 26 to reintroduce the chapter and its vision, with a focus on community, shared resources and strategic discussions.
More than 40 faculty members from universities across the United States, Canada and Mexico joined to exchange ideas for engaging the design community in North America. Pilot plans for this year include developing an annual signature event with a keynote speaker, structured networking opportunities, and outlets that allow members to help steer the direction of the chapter.
“With the North American Chapter, we want to create a network that supports design professionals through greater visibility, resources, and professional connections,” said Wettergreen. “We want to build the infrastructure for cross-institution collaborations in the design community and promote academia-industry dialogue across North America, modeled after these existing resources across Europe, where design is widely recognized as a science.”
The NAC will have a presence at international conferences in 2026 to encourage chapter growth and engagement, including the Design of Medical Devices Conference in Minneapolis, Minn.; ASME IDETC-CIE in Houston, Texas; and the Design Research Society conference in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Wettergreen sees the NAC as a space where early-career scholars—including those in the Global Medical Innovation (GMI) program at Rice—can test ideas with peers from around the world, leveraging the interdisciplinary nature of the Design Society.
“Design is inherently interdisciplinary, and in the GMI program, we champion that through the curriculum and programming,” said Wettergreen. “Students at any age can be working to develop skills which support career development.”
Wettergreen’s role in the relaunch of the North American Chapter (NAC) emphasizes the growing international role of Rice University’s engineering design leadership.
