David Weightman

Bio

David Weightman is a Professor of Industrial Design in the School of Art + Design at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. With a master’s degree in industrial design (engineering) from the Royal College of Art in London, he worked at the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi and taught on the Industrial Design Transport program at Coventry University. He was dean of the School of Art and Design at Staffordshire University and a consultant to Yamaha, Massey Ferguson, British Rail, BBC Television, and the Tate Gallery London.

His teaching and research explores the changing relationship between product users and the design/ manufacturing process resulting from digital technology. Recent projects have also involved acoustic design and hearing conservation. A member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design working group on the future of design education, he also served recently as Midwest District Vice President of the Industrial Design Society of America.

For his sabbatical in spring 2014, he was appointed an IDEA Studio scholar at Autodesk LLC in San Francisco, helping with the development of their Fusion 360 CAD modeling software.