IAC21 Co-Chair Welcome

Cassini Nazir is a designer of conversations, curricula, and interfaces.

He is a Program Director and Clinical Associate Professor in New College at the University of North Texas where he teaches classes in design thinking and interaction design.

In spring 2020, he was Designer-in-Residence for the SMU Masters in Design and Innovation (MADI) program.

Prior to joining UNT, Cassini taught at The University of Texas at Dallas, where he directed two research labs. He was founding director of the ATEC Usability Lab, which fosters collaborative research with community partners and offers experiential learning to students. He was also Director of Design for the ArtSciLab, a transdisciplinary research lab helping the arts, science, and technology communities by pursuing initiatives of societal urgency and cultural timeliness.

His academic projects include collaborations with art historians, biochemists, brain scientists, futurists, materials scientists, new media artists, and a university press. He has worked with industry partners such as Intuit, Toyota, Sabre, DFW Airport, and projekt202.

Grace Lau is an information architect and designer based in Greater Los Angeles, California. She supports the information architecture community through organizing events and mentoring. She co-founded DIA Design Guild, a design community and collective for new and transitioning tech professionals to learn and develop UX skills on real-world projects.

Her first IA Summit was in 2007 Las Vegas. She is also the co-president of World IA Day.