Dr. Wonjoon Chung

Biography

WonJoon Chung is an industrial designer and design educator whose research focuses on individual and collective creativity among designers, strategic design thinking, and pedagogical approaches to enhance students' design competencies to meet the demands of the 21st century. He earned his bachelor's degree from Konkuk University in South Korea and a master's degree from Ohio State University's Department of Industrial Design. He completed his Ph.D. at the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago, emphasizing the development of theoretical frameworks for early prototypes to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration. Since starting his career as a kitchen furniture designer with ENEX in South Korea, he has also worked as a design research intern at Battelle Memorial Institute and LPK in Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio, respectively. Dr. Chung has taught foundational courses aimed at non-design students and has been a faculty member at Carleton's design program since 2007. His research endeavors have led him to participate in government-funded projects in Korea and establish partnerships with industry leaders, always striving to advance pedagogical practices in design education.

Research Interests