Prof. Dr. P.J. Stappers (Pieter Jan)

Professor  
Industrial Design Engineering

Biography

After an education in experimental physics (MSc 1984), Pieter Jan Stappers made the switch to Industrial Design Engineering at TU Delft, and followed a research path which led from human perception, spatial imagery, Virtual Reality (PhD in 1992), to design tools and participatory design techniques. His current activities as full professor of design techniques (as of 2002) encompass coordinating Delft's new Master programme of Design for Interaction, being informal director of ID-StudioLab, and heading the research subprogramme on tools and techniques for the conceptual phase of design. Key elements in his work are 'research through design', 'experiential prototypes', contextmapping, which can be found on his webpage (click here)

Education

• 1992 dr. (Ph.D.) Delft University of Technology
• 1984 drs. (M.Sc.) in Experimental Physics & Informatics, Radboud University Nijmegen
• 1978 VWO Gymnasium-b. Canisius College, Nijmegen

Experience

• 2003- present full professor, Design Techniques, Industrial Design Engineering (IDE) TU Delft
• 1996- 2003 associate Professor, Design Techniques, IDE-TU Delft
• 1984- 1996 assistant Professor, Form Theory, IDE-TU Delft

Specialisation / field of research

Design techniques, especially tools and techniques for the early phases of design. Early concept prototyping and contextmapping.

Lectures and/or coaches students on:

1. Visualisation and communication to support designing
2. Experiential prototyping
3. User studies, contextmapping in particular
4. Research methods, research through design in particular
5. New media tools
6. Design tools and techniques

Publications

Click here for an overview of my publications.