John is, in my opinion (limited to the people I have interacted with), the closest non-academic, non-research faculty at Atlas who perfectly embodies the literal and conceptual meaning of CTD(Creative Tech & Design). In the realm of industry, he stands out as an exceptional industrial designer with a profound alignment with HCI principles.
When explaining the well-known Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, he provided examples that perfectly illustrate how technology, especially the mobile internet, has transformed people’s daily lives. As a designer, he briefly touched on Markov chains in the midst of ChatGPT’s popularity (I don’t assume designers would delve into the intricacies of NLP principles). During his discussion of text, an unexpected delight occurred when he emphasized the global view of typography. He introduced Chinese characters and calligraphy, something I am familiar with, to American students in an amazing way. He utilizes Obsidian, a modern note organization tool that supports customized plugins, to enhance his workflow and organize his ideas.
There are countless instances where I hold a similar appreciation for his perspectives. My only regrets are that his office hours clash with my schedule, and my limited spoken language skills constrain my expressions.
However, what excites me is John’s intelligence and extensive knowledge background, which allows him to quickly grasp the meanings behind my stuttered expressions and share them with other classmates in the course. Therefore, I am more than willing to share additional related content that comes to my mind with him.
While exploring his profile, I discovered Cooper Union, a prestigious institution in the field of architecture. I believe John perfectly embodies, or even surpasses, the definition of Cooper Union’s “goal” as described on Wikipedia.
If I had the opportunity to attend his classes five years ago when I first entered university, perhaps my pursuit of emerging technology would have yielded even more unique insights.