Chair and Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology
EunSook Kwon, Ph.D., is a Professor and Chair of the School of Industrial Design at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She has developed a comprehensive growth plan for the School and successfully implemented a strategic roadmap to achieve its objectives. This roadmap includes STEM-designated ID programs, international exchange programs, and expanded design research projects, such as "Healthcare and Well-being" and "Future of Mobility and Aviation. Before her role at Georgia Tech, she was the Director of the Industrial Design Program at the University of Houston. She was a professor at KAIST, leading the wearable computing and humanoid robot projects.
Kwon was recognized on DesignIntelligence's "Most Admired Educators" in 2011 and 2015 for her vision and passion for nurturing and growing design programs. In 2023, she received the IDSA Education Award, which honors the significant, distinguished, and long-term
contributions of IDSA (Industrial Designers Society of America) members to the field of industrial design academia.
Kwon has published and lectured worldwide on creative design thinking and design strategy development. She has consulted for numerous corporations and developed educational programs for government agencies and universities. Additionally, she served as the Director-General of the Seoul Design Olympiad in 2008, a significant design event that attracted two million visitors over 21 days of exhibitions and festivals. She is also a member of the editorial board for Design Issues journal and has served as a juror for various international design competitions, including IDEA, the Microsoft Next-Generation PC Design Competition, and Seoul Design Awards.
One of her nominators described her as “an outstanding educator who values both academic excellence and design excellence simultaneously and is always pushing the ID field forward in both areas.”
