University of Lund - Department of Design Sciences

• Country - Sweden
• Town - Lund
• Web site - http://www.english.certec.lth.se/

The Department of Design Sciences' research and educational programs moved into a new building designed specifically for that purpose in September 2002: the Ingvar Kamprad Design Centre. It is meant to inspire faculty, students and the world outside of the University to new ideas and cross-disciplinary ventures in design that would otherwise not be possible. Our research is interdisciplinary and focuses on needs analysis, design methods and design principles, while we actively create and study new products and processes in use. Current projects deal with Visualization Methods in the Flexible Reality Centre, The Re/creative Home and Elderly People and Design. The Department of Design Sciences has 90 employees of whom 9 are full professors and 30 senior researchers. There are a total of 50 doctoral students.

Our seven areas of expertise are:

• Aerosol Technology is the study of airborne particles, such as in air pollution, as well as the characteristics of aerosol systems that significantly effect health, the environment and technological applications.
• Ergonomics investigates the interaction between humans and other elements in a human-technical system. This is applied to the design of products, production systems and organizations to optimize quality of life and system performance.
• Packaging Logistics covers product design, package and packing. It includes adaptation of the distribution, administrative and information systems of the entire process from raw material to the end user and on to recycling and recovery.
• Industrial Design research focuses on three core areas: Management (design and trend management). Meta characteristics (symbol value and hidden messages in products). Methodology (processes, methods and tools).
• Machine Design research has a unique focus on the development of methods and techniques for product renewal, development and construction.
• Certec's research in Rehabilitation Engineering aims to offer people with disabilities greater potential and accessibility through more user worthy technology, new design concepts and forms for learning and searching.
• Innovation, with its new professorship, has a complete product and process perspective. The interaction between man, technology and organization is considered as a driving force for the development of new products and services.