Tom Weis

Tom Weis is an Associate Professor of Industrial Design and the founder of the Altimeter Design Group. His work and research interests focus on the intersection of design practices and global security issues. Since 2015, Weis has worked with partners in the nuclear threat reduction space and has designed and facilitated workshops for organizations such as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations, and many more. Weis co-developed foresight activities with partners at Sandia National Laboratories and co-designed the iconic Doomsday Clock for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. His work has been generously supported by the Ploughshares Fund, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and most recently the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Weis is serving as the principal investigator on a two-year grant that will assess how emerging technologies might affect nuclear decision making and escalation dynamics during a crisis.

In addition to his research and curriculum addressing global security issues, Weis has a deep-rooted knowledge of traditional crafts and has devoted years to apprenticing as a traditional wooden boat builder and as the studio assistant to the artist Martin Puryear. Puryear is regarded as one of the most distinguished US artists. Weis has shared his knowledge from these experiences to teach courses, including as part of the Sustainability Design Lab, that explore materials, objects, and shop-based practices.