Welcome to Life-Centered!

Faculty Focus

Our faculty are an amazing and diverse group. Like Sustainable Design itself, they are multi-faceted and trans-disciplinary, passionate and pioneering, curious and creative.  

Tim McGee is no exception.  His day job is is the Biophilic Design Manager at the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), where he brings his career exploring the interface between biology and design to optimize the possibility for a thriving, regenerative, future. Wondering what biophilic design has to do with sustainable design or how biophilic design relates to biomimicry? You can ask Tim! (But first you might want to explore ILFI’s Biophilic Design page.)

On the side, he runs LikoLab, where he provides strategic advice, design research, and entrepreneurial support by leveraging “biological insights for a better world”.  Here he and his collaborators use the tools of biomimicry to bridge the gap between biology and innovation.

In addition to all that, he and collaborator Amelia Tracy created Life-Centered,  “a podcast about how looking to the natural world is impacting technology, society, and how we live our lives.”  So far there are 14 inspiring episodes, including discussions with MASD faculty Denise DeLuca and Taryn Mead. Tim is currently working on ideas and content for season 2, if you have thoughts he encourages you to contact him.

If you want to learn more about the faculty that support the MA in Sustainable Design program, you can explore the faculty profiles on our blog site.  If you want to learn more about the MA in Sustainable Design program and how to apply, explore mcad.edu/sustainable or attend our next informational webinar.

[Image courtesy of LikoLab and the Life-Centered podcast]

Denise DeLuca / Former Director

Denise DeLuca is the Director of MCAD’s Sustainable Design program. She was co-founder of BCI: Biomimicry Creative for Innovation, a network of creative professional change agents driving ecological thinking for radical transformation. Denise is author of the book Re-Aligning with Nature: Ecological Thinking for Radical Transformation, which was illustrated by MASD alum Stephanie Koehler. She also teaches with the Amani Institute.

Denise’s previous roles include Education Director for the International Living Future Institute, Project Manager for Swedish Biomimetics 3000, and Outreach Director for The Biomimicry Institute. Denise is a licensed civil engineer (PE) and holds a master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering with a focus on modeling landscape-scale surface and groundwater interactions.  In addition, Denise is a Biomimicry Fellow and a member of the Advisory Council of The Biomimicry InstituteBoard Member of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP), on the editorial board of the Journal of Bionic Engineering, and an Expert with Katerva. Denise is based in Oregon.

contact:  [email protected]