Biography

Kiersten Muenchinger is an Associate Professor of Product Design at the University of Oregon. Her research identifies intersection points where the qualitative strategies and the quantitative metrics we use in sustainable product design meet. The research she is presenting today applies Kansei engineering to measure how consumers emotionally perceive the sustainability of bio-based polymers and compares these results to single-figure Life Cycle Assessment calculations. Her experimental design work has received an international commendation from Red Dot; IDEA; the Green Product Award; ShowPDX; and Salão Design.

Kiersten has been a US Fulbright scholar specializing in sustainable product design with Polis University in Tirana, Albania, and Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Before joining UO, she was a practicing design engineer with IDEO, Fitch, Sottsass Associatti, Walt Disney Imagineering, and Ford Motor Company.