Georgia Institute of Technology

Raja Schaar is a design instructor for the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at GA Tech and Emory University where she is instrumental in steering the pedagogy of the sophomore engineering design course as well as depth electives on medical device design. She works to infuse the design curriculum with human-centered design methodologies in addition to co-managing the BME machine shop. Her approach is fueled by over 10 years of experience as both an industrial designer and university design lecturer.

She has led both undergraduate and graduate courses in design and innovation for the School of Industrial Design, College of Architecture’s Common First Year program, as well as the School of Biomedical Engineering. Course topics include medical devices, interaction design, exhibition design, eco-design, biologically-inspired design, transportation, service design, and application development. Schaar’’s academic focus is on design thinking, human-centered design methodologies, concept development skills, and K-12 design pedagogy.