Designing Hybrid Skins

Elizabeth Holloway Schar Hal.

media release: Dr. Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao is an associate professor in human centered design, with graduate field faculty appointments in information science, and electrical & computer engineering at Cornell University. She founded and directs the Hybrid Body Lab. Her research practice themed Hybrid Body Craft blends cultural and social perspectives into the design of on-body interfaces. The goal is to shift towards more inclusive and diverse designs for emerging soft wearable technologies, which often appear in the form of smart tattoos and close-body textiles. Kao also develops novel digital fabrication processes for crafting technology close to the body. Kao was awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER Award for her research agenda. Kao and her lab’s research has received several Honorable Mention/Best Paper Awards in top-tier Computer Science conferences (ACM CHI, UIST, ISWC and DIS) while receiving media coverage by Forbes, CNN, TIME Magazine, Fast Company, WIRED. Kao has served as the program chair for ACM International Symposium of Wearable Computers (ISWC), the premier conference for wearable computers.

Kao and her lab also strive to make an impact in the design and art communities. To this end, Kao’s work has been exhibited internationally in venues including the Pompidou Centre in Paris, the Boston Museum of Fine Art, Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria, the Seattle Museum of Pop Culture, and on the New York Fashion Week runway, along with recognitions from the design community through the A’Design Award, the Fast Company Innovation by Design Award Finalist, an Ars Electronica STARTS Prize Nomination, and the SXSW Interactive Innovation Award.

She holds a Ph.D. from the MIT Media Lab, along with a Master’s degree in Computer Science; and two Bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science and in Technology Management, all from National Taiwan University. Kao was born and raised in Taiwan.

The DS-CDMC Lecture Series is an annual program offered through the Design Studies Department in co-sponsorship with the Nancy M. Bruce Center for Design and Material Culture. Each semester, a scholar and/or maker in support of each of the three design studies majors is invited to campus to present a public lecture. In conjunction with their lecture, they visit classes within the Design Studies Department, meet with faculty and students, and may host workshops for students connected to their practice.