John K. F. Irving AB ’83, MBA ’89 and Anne Irving Oxley established the John E. Irving Dean’s Innovation Fund in 2013 to honor the legacy of their father, John E. (Jack) Irving, and support the tradition of outstanding teaching and innovation at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
How can we investigate and minimize the full environmental impacts of materials by making sustainable design choices across the lifecycle, from extraction to reuse and adaptation? How can we address growing material uncertainties by pushing the development of renewables, biomaterials, and novel processes?
How can we leverage smart and augmented materials in understanding and improving the functionality and performance of designs—across the senses, scales, design fields, and products?
How do the use, value, choice, and perception of materials differ across cultures and time? How can the culture and history of materials be thoughtfully incorporated to create more meaningful designs?
How can we qualify and/or quantify the expressive and aesthetic attributes of materials and their impact on experience and place?