Graduate Studies

Mehdi Mortazavi has earned first place in a national rehabilitation design competition for a thesis project addressing mobility challenges for people living with multiple sclerosis. ProxiStep, a soft, passive lower-body exosuit, improves gait balance and reduces walking effort through a human-centered design approach grounded in extensive patient and clinical collaboration.

Award-winning projects from Hines College students Mehdi Mortazavi and Dillon Narcisse show how wearable technology can become more intuitive, accessible, and responsive to human needs. Recognized in the FIT Sport Design Awards, their work explores how design can translate emerging technologies into tools that support performance, usability, and everyday experience.

As environmental, technological, and social challenges continue to reshape our communities, the Hines College is expanding how we think about the future of design education, research, and practice. This issue, Designing What’s Next, highlights faculty and students whose work is opening new directions for a changing world, from climate adaptation and post-oil futures to historic preservation, cultural sustainability, and emerging approaches to landscape and resilience.