The Design Lab welcomed Peggy Zwolinski, a visiting scholar from France who is currently working to incorporate design thinking into the process of remanufacturing. Peggy received her master’s degree in design from ENSAM Paris and PhD in ergonomics from INP, Polytechnic National Institute from Lorraine and has specifically focused on the field of ecodesign, or the approach of redesigning products, services, and systems to act in harmony with our environment and drive sustainability. With a background in mechanical engineering, she has developed a keen interest in integrated design which involves directly interacting with and identifying the core needs of users, manufacturers, and recyclers who impact every stage of the product life cycle.
Peggy is leading a project focused on creating an agile remanufacturing system aimed at streamlining the process of repurposing used products within the scope of circular economy law. As part of this initiative, she is collaborating with key stakeholders including consumers, company representatives, and data scientists to gain a holistic understanding of how to develop a means to optimize recovering value from existing products. Her work primarily involves partaking in cross-functional efforts across the fields of computer science, data science, mechanical engineering, and human-computer interaction to examine quantitative data to inform design decisions.
Peggy was drawn to The Design Lab as she discovered her interest in contributing to an interdisciplinary organization that connects individuals with expertise spanning a wide variety of fields such as design, computer science, data science, and mechanical engineering. “The idea of design in different disciplines is exciting. The Design Lab is about user-centered design and we will speak the same language given my background and experience in ergonomic design,” said Peggy. She reflected on how her design was strictly associated with mechanical engineering in France and believes that uniting experts from varying disciplines within human-centered design will further drive the collaboration and integration of design in other capacities. Peggy is particularly looking forward to immersing herself in diversity of expertise within design community at The Design Lab.
Through facilitating open ideation and collaboration among individuals with varying perspectives and backgrounds, Peggy believes that the most innovative and effective solutions can be achieved through thoughtfully engaging in the design thinking process. The Design Lab provides an incredible opportunity for Peggy to continue pursuing her interest in bridging design and engineering to create transformative systems for global impact.
