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Yukti Arora
Yukti is a designer, entrepreneur, artist, and dancer. Originally from New Delhi, India, she moved to the US at 18 to study industrial design at Ohio State University. Before joining MFA Products of Design, Yukti founded Buildsys, a construction productivity app, to serve the 2nd least digitized industry in the world. At Buildsys, she learned what it takes to build a design-driven creative culture, manage collaborative teams, craft business, sales, and marketing strategies, and launch products. Yukti is also the creator of Wazo Space Station, an interactive digital dollhouse set in outer-space designed for play, storytelling, and fun for kids ages 3-6. Yukti approaches problems from a systems mindset and considers herself a medium agnostic designer who strives to work on projects with a positive impact.
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Nigel Keen
Nigel is an east coast native, hailing from Annapolis, Maryland. He attended La Salle University in Philadelphia, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in integrated science, business, and technology with a focus on additive manufacturing. Before joining the MFA Products of Design program, Nigel worked as a Technical Sales Consultant for Igus, Inc., an engineered polymer manufacturer. He has worked with engineering and design teams across a range of manufacturers to incorporate more sustainable bearing solutions for moving components. At MFA Products of Design, Nigel is eager to explore living systems and their role in interactivity and social design.
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Rohitha Remala
Rohitha joins the MFA Products of Design program after two years working in fintech as a Business Analyst and Consultant at HighRadius. She earned her undergraduate degree in engineering from Osmania University in Andhra Pradesh, India, where she majored in information technology. After graduation, Rohitha worked as a freelance full-stack front-end web designer and developer for various businesses—from fashion to supply chain—before getting into fintech. She enjoys research-based projects, product branding, and experience design and is enthusiastic about space, psychology, and architecture. She likes to keep her mind and body enlivened by engaging in new experiences.
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Rora Rongxuan Pan
Rora studied industrial design at the Central Academy of Fine Art in Beijing, China, and the Cleveland Institute of Art in Cleveland, Ohio. She is an active professional member of the Industrial Design Society Association. After her undergraduate studies, Rora worked as an industrial designer with a houseware company, where she designed for clients including Crate & Barrel, Williams Sonoma, Tovolo, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Magnolia. She managed several independent projects and created new collections for the brands she worked with—some of which were shown at The Inspired Home Show 2022 and are currently available on the market. To date, Rora holds seven patents in kitchenware design. She joined MFA Products of Design to improve her ability in more dimensions.
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Cyntia Abarca
Cyntia was born and raised in Peru, where she studied industrial engineering at the Universidad Lima. After graduating, she spent over six years working in the retail industry at Adidas as a Senior Specialist Business Planner. At Adidas, Cyntia specialized in optimizing processes, leading business and digital strategy implementations, and driving growth and profits in the wholesale channel. She has volunteered at different organizations, including SERVIR and TECHO in Lima. She also enjoys drawing, painting, running, and dancing. Cyntia joins the MFA Products of Design program with enthusiasm about the power of design to create social and sustainable impact.
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Shun Cheng Hsieh
Shun Cheng was born and raised in Taiwan, where he earned his bachelor's degree in Industrial design at Shih Chien University. After graduation, his passion for shoes inspired him to join the 2018 Pensole Footwear Academy Intensive. During his tenure as a footwear designer, Shun Cheun has worked with brands including Skechers, Walmart, and Payless. He has also won the Top4 Award in the 2021 IDC Bags and Footwear Contest. Currently, he works as a Product Developer for Filter017, a brand focused on building apparel, bags, and lifestyle goods. Shun Cheng joins MFA Products of Design with the aim of exploring his passion for sports product design further.
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Prerna Sharma
Based in New York City since 2017, Prerna was born in New Delhi and grew up in Doha, Qatar. After studying Industrial Design and Printmaking at Parsons School of Design, Prerna's undergraduate thesis work was featured in Wanted Design's 2021 international exhibition. From solar-powered plastics production to ceramics and jewelry, Prerna has worked for a number of designers and companies, including Anthropocene.Design, Light and Ladder, and AlineShop, Inc. In her current role as a manager at the American Design Club, Prerna has a growing appreciation for product design that is functional and lasting. At PoD, she aspires to build a stronger interdisciplinary design approach to her work.
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Patrick Baca-Chandler
Patrick joins the MFA Products of Design program as a furniture designer and sculptor. Raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Patrick earned his BFA in Studio Arts from the University of New Mexico, where he specialized in furniture making and sculpture. His undergraduate thesis culminated in an exhibition that emphasized the connection of the parts and solely used the medium of construction-grade plywood. Patrick also has experience working for the city of Albuquerque's department of public arts, where he led a team of young artists on a mosaic mural project. He seeks to apply his philosophy of experimentation and playful discovery to industrial and product design.
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Jacey Pin Xuan Chen
Born in Foshan, China, and raised in Vancouver, Canada, Jacey earned her undergraduate degree in Communication Design from Parsons School of Design in New York City. Before joining MFA Products of Design, she gained experience working as a Product Designer at firms including TODA New York, REQ, Pangea.app, and Apollo ID. In these roles, Jacey was responsible for brand identity, logo design, and user interface & experience design. She is interested in interaction design and is looking forward to expanding her design skills in human-centered products and research.
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Sama Srinivas
A Bay Area native, Sama graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Interactive Media Arts and a minor in Child & Adolescent Psychology. Growing up in a multicultural environment—North Indian, South Indian, and American—Sama developed a passion for exploring intersectionality and storytelling. After graduating from NYU, she gained experience working as a Product Designer for the San Francisco startup Pulse42.io. Apart from design, Sama enjoys trying new activities (such as crocheting and pottery), reading, and eating her heart out with family and friends.
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Jiayuan Wang
Jiayuan earned her Bachelor of Engineering degree in product design and manufacturing at the University of Nottingham, Ningbo, China. For her undergraduate thesis, she designed a system and products to help developmentally disabled individuals take the bus independently. To realize this project and better understand her users' needs, Jiayuan volunteered with the local Ningbo Sunshine Care organization. Before joining the MFA Products of Design program, she worked at TaoDesign in China, focusing on the CMF design of smart electronic devices. Jiayuan is passionate about finding impactful solutions to everyday problems and looks forward to expanding her reach at PoD.
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Heba Jaleel
Raised in Dubai, UAE, Heba hails from Kerala in southern India. While earning her Bachelor of Science degree in Design Management from the American University of Sharjah, UAE, she served as President of the Design Management Association, a student-led organization. After graduation, Heba worked as a Brand Designer for SPINNERS Creative Digital Agency in Dubai. During her undergraduate studies, she learned about user-centered design and design thinking and is excited about designing products, services, and systems that bring those concepts to life. Heba believes empathy is a designer's superpower and wishes to translate it into her work at MFA Products of Design.
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Ria John
Ria is originally from India and grew up in Dubai. She moved to the US when she was 17 and studied Interior Design at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. Ria has a range of internship experiences, from architecture with Luigistudio in Sorrento, Italy, to lighting design in Hyderabad, India. As an undergraduate student, she worked with a program called The Globe which allowed her to connect with other international students. Ria has also volunteered at the Saturday Literacy Academy, where she helped children of refugees adjust to American culture and improve their English. Ria looks forward to exploring the intersection between culture and design at MFA Products of Design.
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Rui Yang
Rui was born and raised in Shenzhen, in southeastern China. She studied at the College of San Mateo in the northern corridor of Silicon Valley before moving to Chicago, where she completed her bachelor's degree at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). Rui was a Graphic Design Intern at Dazone LLC during her undergraduate studies and also gained experience working as a Resource Tech at SAIC. She has also volunteered as an art teacher at Hanlin Academy Inc. After graduation, Rui worked full-time as a Graphic Designer for Sky Factory. She joins MFA Products of Design motivated by product design's potential to heal.
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Vanishree Gandhi
Vani grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and Delhi, India. As an undergraduate student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), she focused on learning fabrication techniques, specifically woodworking and metalworking, and applied them in sculpture and furniture making. Vani's sculptures visually question a chosen object's material choices, size, rigidity, structure, placement, function, and recognizability. Previously, she has worked as an Exhibitions Assistant at the Chicago Artists Coalition, an Instructional Assistant at 280 Woodshop and Metalshop, and a Gallery Technician at SAIC Student Galleries. At MFA Products of Design, Vani hopes to answer her questions and use them innovatively when prototyping.
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Brydon Zhenhuan Yao
Brydon was born in Melbourne, Australia, and grew up in Shanghai, China, where he attended an international school. Brydon graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Game and Interactive Media Design, focusing on 2D game art and puzzle games. His thesis project at NYU, What Comes Before, was a 2D visual novel game centering on a man's journey through his memories as he arrives in the afterlife. Brydon is passionate about martial arts and choreographed the fight scenes for the Mandarin Theatre Group's Chinese language production of Man of La Mancha. At MFA Products of Design, Brydon looks forward to continuing to develop as a multidisciplinary designer.