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Abdelhakim Al Turk

Engineering

Elliot DI + Community-Engaged Research Institute Fellow

Dr. Abdelhakim Al Turk is an Assistant Professor in the College of Aeronautics and Engineering. His project explores how additive manufacturing can be integrated with textile materials to create innovative wearable and functional fabric systems. Using flexible thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) printed directly onto fabric substrates, the research investigates how hybrid textile–polymer structures can enhance flexibility, durability, support, and adaptability while maintaining comfort and mobility. By leveraging the Design Innovation Hub’s digital fabrication resources, the project aims to advance new approaches to wearable technology, human-centered design, and textile innovation through research, prototyping, and collaborative learning opportunities.

Jeffrey Balcerski

Aerospace Engineering

Dr. Balcerski, Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering, joined the faculty at ����ԭ�� in 2024. Before that, he spent nearly a decade at NASA’s Glenn Research Center where he led efforts to develop new technologies and exploration platforms for the extreme environments of Venus’ surface and deep atmosphere. His This project explores how future lunar habitats can be designed to support not only human survival, but also human well-being. By bringing together expertise across architecture, interior design, psychology, health sciences, fashion, and sustainability, the project investigates how environments on the Moon might address factors such as mental health, comfort, mobility, nutrition, and social connection. Through an immersive installation featuring full-scale habitat vignettes and extended reality experiences, the work contrasts purely functional space environments with human-centered designs that prioritize quality of life.

Emily Baumgartner

Emerging Media & Technology

Emily Baumgartner is an Assistant Professor of emerging Media & Technology. Her project focuses on expanding access to computer science and robotics by developing and offering hands-on workshops for K–12 teachers. These workshops are structured using a station-based (rotational) learning model and guided by a low-threshold, high-ceiling design, allowing teachers with varying levels of technical experience to engage with coding and design thinking in a supportive and low-barrier environment. Teachers will take home strategies to implement small lessons into their curriculum within any subject. Ultimately, this initiative aims to address the growing demand for computer science education by empowering educators to bring engaging and interdisciplinary STEM experiences to their students while supporting broader efforts like Ohio’s TeachCS initiative.

Minyoung Gil

Teaching, Learning & Curriculum Studies

Elliot DI + Gerald H. Read Center for International & Intercultural Education Fellow

Minyoung Gil is an Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education in the School of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum Studies. Her project explores how global, intercultural co-design can transform teacher education by preparing pre-service teachers to become collaborative makers of STEM learning experiences. Through iterative engineering and maker-centered practices, the project will prototype “Inquiry Starter Kits” — hands-on STEM learning tools designed for young children — while engaging international collaborators and interdisciplinary faculty in a shared design process. Using the Design Innovation Hub’s makerspace technologies, including 3D printing and laser cutting, the work investigates how culturally responsive STEM curricula can be developed, adapted, and refined across diverse educational contexts. Ultimately, the project aims to create a scalable framework for intercultural curriculum co-design that supports innovative teacher preparation, collaborative research, and future global learning partnerships.

Brendan Ho

Architecture

Brendan Ho is an Assistant Professor in the College of Architecture & Environmental Design. Brendan Ho and Elaine Hsaio's collaborative project explores how human-centered design and emerging maker technologies can support environmental peacebuilding and strengthen trust between Cleveland police and local communities. Through collaborative co-design processes, the project will develop modular peace gardens that serve as shared spaces for dialogue, cooperation, food cultivation, and community engagement while supporting goals related to Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), sustainability, and food security. Using the Design Innovation Hub’s fabrication tools, including woodworking, 3D printing, and immersive visualization technologies, the team will prototype adaptable garden systems that combine accessible materials with custom-designed components for replication across neighborhoods.

Elaine Hsiao

Peace & Conflict Studies

Elaine (Lan Yin) Hsiao is an Assistant Professor in the School of Peace and Conflict Studies with a focus in environmental peacebuilding and international development. Elaine Hsaio and Brendan Ho's collaborative project explores how human-centered design and emerging maker technologies can support environmental peacebuilding and strengthen trust between Cleveland police and local communities. Through collaborative co-design processes, the project will develop modular peace gardens that serve as shared spaces for dialogue, cooperation, food cultivation, and community engagement while supporting goals related to Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), sustainability, and food security. Using the Design Innovation Hub’s fabrication tools, including woodworking, 3D printing, and immersive visualization technologies, the team will prototype adaptable garden systems that combine accessible materials with custom-designed components for replication across neighborhoods.

Taraneh Meshkani

Architecture

Taraneh Meshkani is an Associate Professor in the College of Architecture & Environmental Design. Her project explores how machine learning, computer vision, and immersive design technologies can help communities better understand and address spatial inequalities in urban environments. By analyzing street-level and aerial imagery, the research will map conditions such as tree canopy coverage, building deterioration, surface materials, and environmental exposure across cities in Northeast Ohio, including Cleveland, Akron, and Ravenna. Working collaboratively with community partners, the project will combine computational analysis with participatory workshops and immersive visualization experiences using the Design Innovation Hub’s XR and projection environments to make complex spatial data more accessible and meaningful.

Teddy Workneh

Communication Studies

Teddy Workneh (Ph.D., University of Oregon) is an Associate Professor of Global Communication in the School of Communication Studies at ����ԭ��. Integrating critical media studies with community-engaged pedagogy, Dr. Workneh will use his appointment as an Elliot DI Faculty Fellow to launch his Science and Dialogue project. This initiative aims to translate complex scientific challenges into intercultural narratives that foster global empathy. Through the fellowship, he will develop a “Field-to-Fab” experiential course that leverages DI tools, helping students transform empirical field data into accessible, human-centric stories. This work will culminate in a replicable, open-source pedagogical toolkit to establish a scalable model for empathy-driven science communication.