Benjamin Farahmand
MiD 2012
BS Aerospace Engineering; BA Philosophy
Biography
As a first year Masters student in Industrial Design at the UArts, I’m still learning the ropes but I hope to mature as a thinker and communicator. I hold a BA in Philosophy and a BS in Aerospace Engineering from UCLA. My philosophic background is analytic with interests in ethics, epistemology, some metaphysics and philosophy of mind. I’ve endeavoured to combine this with the practicality of engineering by entering into the design field. Design, I believe, is a process and it tells a story. It discovers limitations and strives to understand and overcome. I believe the ultimate goal of design is to empathize. Its forward pointing arrow intertwines everyone’s life with the future that is yet to be imagined.
I’m currently on a team that's working to re-imagine and reuse depopulated and vacant mall space. I'm also exploring ideas for interfaces via mobile EEG devices. One of my interests in the design field includes the phenomenon of simple systems that give rise to complex and unanticipated behavior, for example Jon Conway’s “Game of Life” or the social dynamic of ants and humans. This applies to group dynamics and group behavior and is vital to the design field when trying to seamlessly integrate individuals into a successful and creative group.
While at UCLA, my education incorporated both theoretical and hands-on work. My team-based engineering projects include: an entrepreneurial business model dealing with renewable energy, wing design, the design of a sample return mission to Mars, sustainable design developing a multifunctional device replacing both the vacuum and leaf blower, the design of a commercial supersonic transport for the 2030 to 2040 time frame, and the design and fabrication of a three-wheeled RC car.
An in-depth description of past projects are available to be seen or downloaded here.
