Behnaz Farahi

Behnaz Farahi is a designer, creative technologist, and critical maker exploring relationships between the human body and its surrounding environment through emerging technologies. Farahi is Assistant Professor at the MIT Media Lab, where she leads the Critical Matter research group. Drawing on principles from natural systems, her work combines computational design, interactive technologies, and digital fabrication to investigate emotion, bodily perception, feminism, and social interaction.

Farahi’s work has been exhibited internationally and is held in the permanent collection of the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Her honors include the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Digital Design and Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Linda Tischler Award. She holds a PhD in Interdisciplinary Media Arts and Practice from the USC School of Cinematic Arts and has collaborated with organizations including NASA, Adidas, and Autodesk.