Andrew Witt named inaugural Kavita and Krishna Bharat Professor

Witt has been on the faculty of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design since 2010, most recently as associate professor in practice in architecture. He is co-director of Harvard’s Master in Design Engineering and the founder and director of the school’s Geometry Lab, which explores the intersection of design and the science of shape and form. Witt’s scholarship on design and technology is internationally known, and he is the recipient of fellowships and grants from MacDowell, the Canadian Centre for Architecture, and the Graham Foundation, among others. He is the author of “Formulations: Architecture, Mathematics, Culture,” (MIT Press) and “Light Harmonies: The Rhythmic Photographs of Heinrich Heidersberger” (Hatje Kantz). His current book project, The Cyborg Home, considers the history and future of autonomous and artificially intelligent houses. He has also authored dozens of book chapters and journal articles. His recent article, “Neural Image Classifiers for Historical Building Elements and Typologies,” won a Technology | Architecture + Design Research Contribution Award from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture.

In 2014, Witt and designer Tobias Nolte co-founded Certain Measures, a studio that bridges physical and digital spaces, experiences, and products. The studio’s work ranges from analyzing, sorting, and repurposing construction waste in a project called Mine the Scrap — now in the permanent collection of the Centre Pompidou in Paris — to developing models for reallocating water rights in the Colorado River with attention to political accountability and ecological impacts. The work of Certain Measures has been shown internationally in the Venice Biennale, the Barbican Centre, and the Museum of the Future, among many others.

“All of the projects I’m engaged with try to imagine an impact at multiple scales, then try to propose something in the world that has a cascading effect,” Witt said. A common thread in his work is an exploration of our spatial environment and the ways in which we represent that environment to our senses. “Through physical and digital media, my work tries to show the vast complexities of those spaces, but also some of the intuitive logics and the ways that we might begin to embrace the material, ecological, legal, formal, and cultural systems that surround us, and change them for the better,” he said.

Prior to his roles at Harvard and Certain Measures, Witt worked for more than a decade as director of research at Gehry Technologies (now Trimble Consulting), a firm created to harness methods from aerospace and automotive engineering and apply them to architectural projects. Additional experience includes roles at IBM Research — where his work on a multi-column user interface for managing online threaded conversations received a U.S. patent — along with Preston Scott Cohen Architects.

Witt shared that he is looking forward to beginning his work at the university. “WashU’s emphasis on interdisciplinary, collaborative research and the Sam Fox School’s work in digital transformation make the university an ideal place to continue this work at many scales,” he said. “I believe that how designers use AI to see, imagine, and act within systems is fundamental to how we’re going to tackle some of today’s biggest societal challenges.”

Beyond the partnership between the Sam Fox School and McKelvey School, field-leading faculty like Witt are key contributors to WashU’s academic excellence. “We know that societal challenges will be solved as we bring multiple perspectives and disciplines together. The distinguished academic reputation of WashU, paired with the success of our strategic plan, creates a unique context to attract top-tier talent at an exciting and innovative intersection of knowledge,” Mary McKay, executive vice provost, said.

“I am grateful for the collaboration of our deans and thrilled to welcome Andrew Witt to the WashU community as the newest contributor to our outstanding, research-intensive faculty,” Provost Mark West said.

The Bharat Professorship was created by Kavita Thirumalai and Krishna Bharat, a distinguished research scientist at Google known for his leadership in developing Google News. Their daughter, Meera Bharat, is a 2023 graduate of WashU’s College of Architecture.

Krishna Bharat noted the competitive nature of the professional world students enter upon graduation inspired this professorship. “Any edge we can give them in terms of creativity or execution can make a real difference to their craft and career,” he said. He went on to express that students who learn to use technology judiciously and as a creative thought partner will have a career advantage. “That was the thinking that led to investing in this professorship,” Bharat said, “to bring together technologists and designers, import the best ideas from all over, and build a virtual bridge between the McKelvey and Sam Fox Schools — I think Andrew will be the perfect keystone for that bridge.

Aaron Bobick, dean of McKelvey Engineering and the James M. McKelvey Professor, shared his gratitude to the Bharats for “their forward-thinking investment in WashU.” The professorship, Bobick added, “strengthens our partnership with the Sam Fox School and will encourage students and faculty across disciplines to explore the role of technology, and in particular, artificial intelligence in the evolution of design.”