UC REGENTS - Key Persons


Aashray Manchanda

Job Titles:
  • Supervisor

Adit Roychowdhury

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Student Advisory Board

Alan Cooper

Job Titles:
  • Lecturer

Albert Senyo Hodo

Job Titles:
  • Creative Catalyst

Aleta Martinez

Job Titles:
  • Administrative Officer
  • Executive Assistant to the Faculty
Aleta serves as executive assistant to the Faculty Director and provides administrative and operational support. Contact her regarding building tours and upcoming events.

Alexa Alcala

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Student Advisory Board

Alice Agogino

Job Titles:
  • Faculty Director 's Council

Amy Dinh

Job Titles:
  • Director of Academic Affairs
Amy manages student services and academic affairs for the Jacobs Institute, including oversight/coordination of the undergraduate and graduate programs, student leadership groups, and DEI committee. Contact her regarding questions, comments, or suggestions regarding your student experience.

Amy Herr

Job Titles:
  • Faculty Director 's Council

Ananth Nayak

Job Titles:
  • Creative Catalyst

Björn Hartmann

Job Titles:
  • Faculty Director
Björn Hartmann is Faculty Director of the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation and Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. His research in Human-Computer Interaction focuses on novel design, prototyping, and implementation tools for the era of post-personal computing. His group investigates how better software and hardware can facilitate the exploration of interactive devices that leverage novel form factors and technologies (e.g., sensors and actuators). They also investigate how software can help students, designers, and makers to learn and share their expertise online. He received his PhD from the Stanford Computer Science department in 2009, as well as an MSE in Computer and Information Science and Undergraduate Degrees in Digital Media Design and Communication from the University of Pennsylvania in 2002. He is a Qualcomm Faculty Fellow and has received an NSF CAREER award, Sloan fellowship, and Okawa research award. At the Institute, Hartmann oversees the Institute's curriculum, public programs, and maker space, rethinking the nature of hands on learning in the twenty first century.

Bran Ferren - Founder

Job Titles:
  • Chief Creative Officer
  • Co - Founder
  • Member of the Industry Advisory Board

Cameron Chaney

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Student Advisory Board

Charlene Shong

Job Titles:
  • Design Technician

Charles Huang

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Industry Advisory Board
  • CEO / Indigo

Cher Wang - CEO, Chairman, President

Job Titles:
  • CEO
  • Chairman
  • President

Chris Myers

Job Titles:
  • Lecturer

Chris Parsell

Job Titles:
  • Design Specialist
Chris brings broad experience in digital fabrication, from 3D modeling to laser-cutting. Contact him about high-end 3D printing or to hear about hacking shopbots to draw. Learn more or book office hours appointment.

Cody Glen

Job Titles:
  • Design Specialist
Cody is a designer, fabricator, and roboticist whose work centers around surface rationalization and computational solutions for complex facade and enclosure problems. His interests are in computational design and digital fabrication and their roles within the greater discourse of design. Contact him about CNC fabrication, PCB fabrication, robotics, computation, optimization, and general design questions. Book office hours appointment.

David Mellis

Job Titles:
  • Design

Dean Kamen

Job Titles:
  • Founder and President / DEKA Research & Development Corp

Dennis Lieu

Job Titles:
  • Faculty Director 's Council / Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Drew Mason

Job Titles:
  • Information Systems Analyst

Drew McPherson

Job Titles:
  • Design
  • President, ROR3 Devices

Drew Singer

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Student Advisory Board

Eldon Schoop

Job Titles:
  • Project Lead & Principal Engineer, Maker Pass

Emily Au

Job Titles:
  • Lecturer

Emily Rice

Job Titles:
  • Director of Programs & Operations

Eric Paulos

Job Titles:
  • Chief Learning Officer
  • Chief Learning Officer for the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation
  • Interim Faculty Director
Eric Paulos is the Chief Learning Officer for the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation and Professor in Electrical Engineering Computer Science. He is also founder and director of the Hybrid Ecologies Lab, Director of the CITRIS Invention Lab, a Co-Director of the Swarm Lab, and faculty within the Berkeley Center for New Media (BCNM). Previously, Eric held the Cooper-Siegel Associate Professor Chair in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University where he was faculty within the Human-Computer Interaction Institute with courtesy faculty appointments in the Robotics Institute and in the Entertainment Technology Center. At CMU he founded and directed the Living Environments Lab. Prior to CMU, Eric was a Senior Research Scientist at Intel Research in Berkeley, California where he founded the Urban Atmospheres research group - challenged to employ innovative methods to explore urban life and the future fabric of emerging technologies across public urban landscapes. His areas of expertise span a deep body of research territory in critical making, design research, urban computing, sustainability, social telepresence, robotics, physical computing, interaction design, persuasive technologies, and intimate media. Eric is a leading figure in the field of urban computing, coining the term in 2004, and a regular contributor, editorial board member, and reviewer for numerous professional journals and conferences. Eric received his PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from UC Berkeley where he helped launch a new robotic industry by developing some of the first internet tele-operated robots including Space Browsing helium filled blimps and Personal Roving Presence devices (PRoPs).

Eric Weinhoffer

Job Titles:
  • Mechanical Engineer
  • Design Fellow
Eric Weinhoffer is a mechanical engineer specializing in product design, rapid prototyping, and scaling from prototype to production. Currently, Eric is a Senior Hardware Development Specialist at Skydio. He has designed and shipped a variety of products, including technology demonstration payloads to the ISS, CNC milling machines (the Othermill), and a variety of consumer devices. When not making parts at home, Eric enjoys riding bikes and spending time in the mountains. You can get in touch with Eric by booking a time to meet with him here or emailing him.

Erik Sandall

Job Titles:
  • Operations Manager
  • System Administrator
Erik Sandall is a system administrator with a background in libraries and the software industry. He oversees makerspace digital infrastructure, including the Maker Pass access system and online material store. Contact Erik for all makerspace questions. To troubleshoot makerspace access issues, please try our online fix tool. To report that you have a new Cal 1 Card, please fill out this form.

Gary Gin

Job Titles:
  • Design Specialist
Gary focuses on electronics and robotics. Contact him regarding Jacobs Hall's spaces and tools for electronics-based making or to hear about his BattleBots experiences. Learn more or book office hours appointment.

Grace O'Connell

Job Titles:
  • Faculty Director 's Council / Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Gwynne Keathley

Job Titles:
  • Executive Director

Hannah Stuart

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Hayden Taylor

Job Titles:
  • Faculty Director 's Council / Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Hyun Jie Jung

Job Titles:
  • Creative Catalyst

Ikhlaq Sidhu

Job Titles:
  • Faculty Director 's Council / Chief Scientist and Founding Director, Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology

Isabel Rhee

Job Titles:
  • Member / UC Berkeley Foundation

Jack McCauley - President

Job Titles:
  • President
Jack McCauley is an Innovator in Residence at the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, where he mentors students, lectures in courses focused on product design and design for manufacturing, and leads research and development projects focused on applications of augmented, virtual, and mixed reality for design professionals and students. McCauley graduated from Berkeley Engineering with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1986, and credits the time he spent at Berkeley as an undergraduate with helping to ignite his career. McCauley's inventions, intellectual property and patents bridge diverse technologies. He was one of the inventors of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) specification. He created the original scrolling feature for a computer mouse. As director of research for the electronic entertainment company, RedOctane, he was the chief engineer behind the Guitar Hero game series, as well as at least eight other highly successful digital games. In 2012, McCauley co-founded Oculus VR and manufactured Oculus Rift, the head-mounted virtual-reality display. Oculus was later acquired by Facebook.

JaeWoo Chung

Job Titles:
  • Design
Jaewoo Chung, Ph.D., is a UX leader and technologist trained in the field of UX Design, HCI, Computer Science, Music Composition and Psychology. He received his PhD from MIT Media Lab. Jaewoo has been working in industry and academia more than 20 years, dealing on various topics such as multi-modal interaction systems (voice, gesture, touch), intelligent systems for mobile and wearable, virtual/mixed reality, IoT, decision support systems, and smart homes. He is currently Head of UX Design and Research @ HP and previously, he was the Director of Next Experience Display Lab @ Samsung. Get in touch with Jaewoo via email; his weekly office hours are Fridays 9am - 2pm. Purin Phanichphant is an artist, designer, and educator with a deep interest in the intersection between creativity and mindfulness. Purin combines his roots in Northern Thailand, where he spent part of his life as a Buddhist monk, with his background in designing innovative products and experiences in the San Francisco Bay Area. He holds a BFA in Industrial Design and Human-Computer Interaction from Carnegie Mellon University, and an MFA in Product Design from Stanford University. He previously worked as a principal product designer at IDEO San Francisco, and taught design courses at Stanford University and General Assembly. Over the past several years at the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, he has taught DES INV 21: Visual Communication and Sketching, DES INV 181: Reimagining Mobility, and held multiple workshops on Visual Design Hacking and Designing Your First Portfolio. As a Design Fellow, he hopes to help students realize their full potential not only as design practitioners, but also as designers of their own lives and the world we all live in. Contact Purin via email or book an office hour appointment with him.

James Pierce

Job Titles:
  • Lecturer

James Truchard - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman of the Board
  • Member of the Industry Advisory Board
  • Chairman of the Board / National Instruments

Jennifer Li

Jennifer Li is a first-year student planning to major in Mechanical Engineering

Joey Gottbrath

Job Titles:
  • Technical Lab Director
Joey Gottbrath oversees the fabrication facilities and equipment curricula and leads the technical team. His interests are woodworking and furniture design that integrates both recent and traditional methodologies, and he has managed experimental fabrication spaces for artists, engineers, and designers in the Bay Area for over two decades. Gottbrath serves on the board of International Symposium of Academic Makerspaces and on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee of the Student Shop Manager's Consortium.

John Canny

Job Titles:
  • Faculty Director 's Council

Jon Sigerman

Job Titles:
  • Co - Founder, Summation Legal Technologies, Inc

Julie Hoang

Job Titles:
  • Student Supervisor
I am a third year student studying Mechanical Engineering. I have lived in the Bay Area my entire life but want to try out the East Coast after graduation. In my free time, I enjoy being outdoors: swimming, volleyball, or hiking.

Kelly Liu

Job Titles:
  • Student Supervisor

Kent Wilson

Job Titles:
  • Design Specialist

Khushi Sancheti

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Student Advisory Board

Kuan-Ju Wu

Job Titles:
  • Lecturer

Laura Mitchell

Job Titles:
  • Communications & Programs Officer

Lester John

Job Titles:
  • Lynne Dewar Lloyd Distinguished Professor, Bioengineering

Liam Casey

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Industry Advisory Board
  • Founder and CEO / PCH

Luke Seybold

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Student Advisory Board

Maria Giudice

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Industry Advisory Board
  • Co - Author

Mark Hatch

Job Titles:
  • Entrepreneur in Residence / General Partner, Network Society Ventures

Mary Catherine Richardson

Job Titles:
  • Design Specialist

Matt Wolpe

Job Titles:
  • Design Specialist

Michael Shiloh

Job Titles:
  • Lecturer

Miles Nash

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Student Advisory Board

Nicole Panditi

Job Titles:
  • Design Technician
  • Design Technician With a Focus on 3D
Nicole is a design technician with a focus on 3D printing. She enjoys woodworking and permaculture. Contact her for help on your print, the Jacobs Self-Service Printing service, or to chat about sustainability

Niki Shakouri

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Student Advisory Board

Patricia A. Moore

Job Titles:
  • Senior Design Fellow

Paul Jacobs

Job Titles:
  • Chairman, Jacobs Institute Board

Paul Wright

Job Titles:
  • Faculty Director 's Council

Paula Te

Job Titles:
  • Design Fellow

Purin Phanichphant


Renato Verdugo

Job Titles:
  • Lecturer

Rob Hennigar

Job Titles:
  • Lecturer

Robert J. Full

Job Titles:
  • Faculty Director 's Council / Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Robert Kett

Job Titles:
  • Lecturer

Roland Saekow

Job Titles:
  • Special Projects

Rushabh Shah

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Student Advisory Board

Sabrina Merlo

Job Titles:
  • Senior Director of External Affairs / Jacobs
Sabrina leads marketing and communications at Jacobs Institute and works strategically to advance external partnerships including community, corporate, and government connections and collaborations.

Sara Beckman

Job Titles:
  • Faculty Director 's Council / Senior Lecturer and Earl F. Cheit Faculty Fellow, Haas School of Business

Sarah Cinnamon

Job Titles:
  • Design

Scott Moura

Job Titles:
  • Faculty Director 's Council / Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Sonita Lontoh

Job Titles:
  • Global Head of Marketing, 3D Print & Digital Marketing

Stacy Jo Scott

Job Titles:
  • Design Specialist

Stephanie Bianco

Job Titles:
  • Director of Career Development
Stephanie Bianco is a career educator with years of experience working in higher education. She has a passion for supporting students as they prepare for their future careers, and is responsible for building a program emphasizing equity, inclusion, and access, and which best meets the unique needs of the Master of Design students at the Jacobs Institute.

Tsu-Jae King Liu

Job Titles:
  • Dean, College of Engineering

Twiggy Chen

Job Titles:
  • Design Specialist

Tyshon Rogers

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Director of Academic Affairs
Tyshon is responsible for enrollment management and student services for the Berkeley Certificate in Design Innovation (BCDI) and the Master of Design (MDes). Contact him for any questions about scheduling, enrollment, and other student resources, including MDes electives, requirements and course eligibility for BCDI, and student group support.

Victoria Lee

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Student Advisory Board

Vivek Rao

Job Titles:
  • Lecturer

Wilson Torres

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Student Advisory Board

Xander Bremer

Job Titles:
  • Design Specialist

Yael Zheng

Job Titles:
  • Board Director

Yoon Bahk

Job Titles:
  • Lecturer

Zahin Ali

Job Titles:
  • Design
Zahin Ali (IEOR '11) is an Interaction Design Lead at IDEO where he leads interdisciplinary project teams to solve ambiguous problems with human-centered design thinking practices. He engages in all stages of the innovation process: defining strategy, user research, identifying key insights, building and testing prototypes, product/vision storytelling, and bringing products and services to market. As a design consultant, he works with a growing portfolio of global clients in a range of industries such as mobility, healthcare, education, and financial services. In a prior career, he leveraged his Berkeley IEOR degree to design manufacturing systems at Tesla. He then made his way to design in an unconventional path via startups, a stint with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and with graduate work from Art Center College of Design and the Carnegie Mellon University School of Design where he earned a Masters in Interaction Design. He currently teaches a graduate course in Visual Design at the DePaul University School of Computing and Digital Media. Schedule a meeting with Zahin during his office hours.