The Design Innovation Initiative is pleased to welcome the third cohort of The John and Fonda Elliot DI Faculty Fellows Program and first to participate in the six-week summer fellowship.
Based in the Design Innovation Hub and generously supported through an endowed gift from John and Fonda Elliot, the program creates space and time for faculty members from any academic unit to engage in collaborative, cross or trans-disciplinary projects utilizing human-centered design and innovation strategies. While advancing their project collaborations, Elliot DI Faculty Fellows also engage in activities grounded in the initiative's “Design Innovation Toolkit” resulting in certification as a “Design Innovation Change Agent” upon completion of the program.
The Summer 2025 Elliot DI Faculty Fellows Cohort
Michelle Bebber
Assistant Professor, CAS, Anthropology
Michelle's project, Visualizing the Past via Bodies in Motion: Reconstructing Paleolithic Art Through Immersive Technology, reconstructs the experience of creating Paleolithic cave art using immersive technology, motion capture, and sensory-rich simulations. By combining archaeology, biomechanics, digital media and the arts, it enables participants to physically engage with the spatial and gestural realities of ancient artistic practices. Utilizing Kent State’s Blank_Lab and XR_Collaboratory, the project both advances research into human creativity and evolution and seeks to generate new insights into the origins of aesthetic expression and connect modern audiences with ancient human experiences.
Deepshikha Bhati
Lecturer, Stark Campus, CAS, Computer Science
Deepshikha's project, Interpretable Generative AI for Education and Creative Industries, explores how explainable AI (XAI) can enhance transparency, trust, and ethical accountability in generative AI systems used across creative and educational fields. By integrating Layer-wise Relevance Propagation (LRP) into image generation pipelines like Stable Diffusion, she aims to demystify the “black box” of AI. Through interactive, web-based tools, users—including educators, students, and designers—will be able to visualize how input prompts shape AI outputs.
Kayon Hall
Assistant Professor, EHHS, Higher Education Administration and Student Affairs
Kayon's project, The Quiet Holds Us: A Sensory Archive of Black Immigrant Life, is an Kayon's project is an interdisciplinary, multimedia project that reimagines black immigrant life beyond narratives of spectacle and survival. Drawing on theories of quiet and wake work (Quashie, Sharpe), it centers joy, rest, and interiority through a sensory archive built with photography, sound design, and community storytelling. Using the DI Hub’s Blank_Lab and immersive technologies, the project will create a traveling art exhibit and collaborative archive that honors the lived experiences of black immigrants and challenges extractive, trauma-centered representations of Blackness.
Raiful Hasan
Assistant Professor, CAS, Computer Science
&
Hadi Rahmati
Assistant Professor, CCI, Visual Communication Design
Raiful Hasan and Hadi Rahmati's collaborative project aims to develop a reciprocal, adaptive external Human–Machine Interface (eHMI) for autonomous vehicles, tailored to the diverse needs of pedestrians, including those who are distracted, disabled, or sensory-impaired. Drawing on Roman Jakobson’s communication theory, the system enables two-way, multi-modal interactions—responding to pedestrian feedback and adapting cues based on individual context. The team plans to simulate pedestrian–AV encounters using immersive environments while leveraging volumetric capture and virtual vehicle models to evaluate trust, inclusivity, and adaptability. The ultimate goal is to create an equitable, human-centered eHMI that enhances urban mobility and fosters social trust in autonomous systems.
David Silva
Assistant Professor, CCI, Communication Studies & EMAT
David's project aims to transform Kent State’s DI Hub into a regional leader in scalable AR/VR training solutions by standardizing processes for developing immersive training materials across industries. While the university already possesses advanced 3D scanning and modeling technologies, current AR/VR initiatives remain isolated and industry-specific. By leveraging the XR_Collaboratory, DepthKit equipment, and faculty expertise in data design and user experience, this project will create a replicable pipeline for building cost-effective, high-impact training tools. A pilot collaboration with Crystal Diagnostics will demonstrate how immersive simulations can reduce training time and eliminate costly logistical barriers for biotech start-ups, while also enhancing workforce readiness for students.
Learn more about The John and Fonda Elliot DI Faculty Fellows Program