- Biography
Cumulus President
Lorenzo Imbesi, PhD
Full Professor and Sapienza Design Research Director, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
Lorenzo was elected President of Cumulus during the virtual General Assembly of June 2022 after serving two consecutive terms on the Board (CEB VII and CEB VI). As an architect and scholar with an esteemed trajectory contributing to the research field for design internationally through graduate education, publications, and conferences, Lorenzo has steered important efforts to create spaces for design research discourse and practice to thrive within the Cumulus community.
Most recently, he has extended his work as co-founder and co-chair of the ReveDa (Research Vectors in Design and Art) Cumulus Working Group by proposing and helping conceive the Cumulus Ph.D. Network that the association launched in 2020, an initiative he chairs. Lorenzo is an active participant of the Executive Board’s conference subcommittee and has been instrumental in leveraging his deep academic connections to expand the association’s membership in Italy, Europe, and Canada. Cumulus’ partnership with the Design Principles and Practices Research Network is a tribute to his introductory efforts. In 2021, Lorenzo co-chaired and delivered the Design Culture(S) Cumulus Roma conference hosted by Sapienza University. With a development arc of several years, Design Culture(s) is the first conference that Cumulus has brought to its members fully virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in this sense stands out as an important milestone for innovation and accomplishment for the association.
As a Full Professor at La Sapienza University and chair of the Design Unit and Design Curriculum of the Ph.D. program as well as the Sapienza Design Research Interdepartmental Centre, Lorenzo continues to be an international keynote speaker, organizer, and active participant in educational initiatives, global conferences, and academic centers in the international design research community. Lorenzo brings a vast academic global experience to his teaching and research: he is currently a member of the Board of the Italian Society of Design SID, and a member of the Executive Board of EAD (European Academy of Design) since 2011. Among several international appointments, Lorenzo served as an ICCS fellow with the Canadian Government for two consecutive years, and a member of the Research Board of National and European researches (AHRB/EPSRC, CEE-COST), and coordinator of the ‘Programa Alta Formacion de Cuadros Dirigentes de los Paises del Mercosur’ from 2006 to 2009. He has served as a visiting professor for a number of international universities—including Hong Kong Polytechnic, University of San Diego, Emily Carr University, University of Calgary, and the University of Toronto, among others. Prior to his current role as a Full Professor at Sapienza University of Rome, Lorenzo served as an Associate Professor and the Graduate Coordinator of the Master of Design MDes at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada until 2013. Lorenzo’s contributions as an author, critic, and essayist may be found across many peer-reviewed journals. He is editor of ‘Design Principles and Practices: an International Journal’ (Common Ground Publishing, Chicago), director of ‘FIELDS. An Interdisciplinary Design Journal and member of the editorial advisory board of “The Design Journal” (Bloomsbury Publishing, London). Lorenzo’s publications include “Nomad+Design. 1. Categories” (2016), “Nomad+Design. 2. Phenomena” (2016), “Design for Social Innovation in Canada” (2016), “InterAction by Design” (2009), “09 YoungDesign” (2009), “Ethics & Design” (2008), and “D_Generation” (2007).
Lorenzo holds a Ph.D. in Design from Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.
