The University of Minnesota's College of Design has announced designer, anthropologist, educator, and researcher Dr. Prasad Boradkar as its new dean following a nationwide search. 

The college houses the School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Interior Design programs in addition to other design disciplines like Product Design, Apparel Design, and Human Graphic Design, to name a few. 

Boradkar's extensive career in academia and the design industry can be seen through his work with Google, where he recently served as the UX Research and Sustainability Lead at the company's Advanced Technology & Projects division, and his prior professor of industrial design role at Arizona State University, where he held positions as the co-director of the Biomimicry Center and director of the InnovationSpace transdisciplinary research and education lab.

His multidisciplinary background has allowed him to collaborate across several disciplines, leading him to work in "cross-functional, transdisciplinary teams that included engineers, architects, biologists, sustainability experts, business specialists, and social scientists," among others. 

Boradkar received his Bachelor of Engineering from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in India and holds two Master's degrees in Industrial Design from The Ohio State University and the Industrial Design Centre Bombay in Mumbai. He received his Ph.D. in Sociocultural Anthropology from University College London. 

"I am deeply honored and humbled to serve as the dean of the College of Design," Boradkar shared. "I look forward to immersing myself into this new environment and to connecting with the design community." 

His new role as dean will begin this Fall, starting on September 5, 2023.