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Chen, Zeya

Bio

Zeya Chen is an award-winning designer and researcher. Her research focuses on the aesthetics and politics of socio-technical systems and infrastructure at the intersection between emerging technologies, ethical practices, and behavioral science; specifically, she uses behavioral design approaches and system thinking to nudge digital ethics into practical data-driven healthcare services. Currently, she is a Ph.D. student at the Institute of Design (ID) at Illinois Institute of Technology; and a Research Assistant at D-Lab of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, responsible for the project, Whole Life: Designing Life After Covid-19, founded by the Bill&Melinda Gates Foundation.

 

Previously, Zeya worked as a Research Fellow at ideas42, where she explored design discourse between behavioral science and public policy. She also worked as a Graduate Research Assistant and UX Researcher for Academic DEI at Columbia College Chicago, the Action Lab at the IIT Institute of Design, and the Health+Design Integration Lab at Rush University Medical Center, for anti-oppressive design and translational research on digital health technologies.

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Zeya holds a Master of Design (M.Des) degree from the IIT Institute of Design, and a Bachelor of Art (B.A.) degree in Industrial Design from Wuhan University in China. She specializes in leveraging design methods and tools to develop strategic services and systematic solutions in multidisciplinary teams. Her work has been honored by Core77, Fast Company, iF Design, and ACM-UIST for Notable Social Impact, 2022 World Changing Idea, Notable Health/Wellness Design, etc.

Zeya Chen Headshot.JPG

Selected Awards / Honors

  • Notable Health/Wellness Design Award, Core77                                                                                                          2023

  • Student Innovation Jury Award, Runner-up, ACM-UIST Conference’22                                                                2022

  • World Changing Ideas Award 2022, Honorable Mentions, Fast Company                                                            2022

  • Notable Social Impact Award & Notable Service Design Award, Core77                                                                 2022

  • Notable Health/Wellness Design Award, Core77                                                                                                          2022

  • Best Student Design of 2022, Honorable Mentions, Fast Company                                                                        2022

  • Master Challenges Competition’21, Winner, IIT Institute of Design & Harvard D-Lab                                      2021

  • Master Challenges Competition’20, Winner, IIT Institute of Design & Verizon                                                    2020

  • iF Design Award 2020, Package Design Award, iF Design                                                                                         2020

  • Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC) Scholarship, Chinese Ministry of Education                                                 2019

  • Global Green Efficiency Innovation Challenge Competition, Finalist Award, Schneider Electric SA                2018

  • Advertisement Creative Competition for College Students, 3rd Prize, Hubei Education Bureau                      2018

  • Excellent Student Scholarship, 3rd Prize, Wuhan University                                                                                    2018

  • Excellent Overseas Student Scholarship, 1st Prize, Seoul National University                                                        2017

  • Best Web Design Award 2016, Winner, Wuhan University                                                                                        2016

  • Best VI Design, Runner-up, East Lake Youth Forum between Taiwan and China Mainland                           2016

  • National Scholarship for Outstanding College Students, 1st Prize, Chinese Ministry of Education                  2016

  • Outstanding College Students Award, 1st Prize, Wuhan University                                                                         2016

Exhibitions

  • Bauhaus@85 Exhibition: 85 Years of Making the Future                                                             Chicago, IL, Oct 2022

Microgrid as a Civil Infrastructure                                                                                      

  • IIT Institute of Design EOYS 2021                                                                                    Chicago, IL (Online), Nov 2021

Digital Ghost: Discursive Design in VR Exhibition

  • Hubei Provincial Art Alliance Outstanding Youth Designers Exhibition                                  Wuhan, CN, Jun 2019

Speculative Life Jacket: Design for Multi-Victim Connections

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