Jenny Sabin
Principal and Principal Investigator
Jenny Sabin’s work is at the forefront of a new direction for 21st century architectural practice, investigating the intersections of architecture and science while applying insights from biology and mathematics to design of material structures.
Zeiad Amin
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Zeiad Amin is a graduate student in Design Tech at Cornell with a background in architecture and Computer Science and experience in structural analysis from his work with Chicago-based firms. His current research centres on developing computational design frameworks that merge structural performance with cultural and aesthetic considerations using Machine Learning. He also serves as a teaching assistant for a Coding for Design course and is a former Research Associate at Cornell's Robotic Construction Lab. Recently, he was a co-artist on a CCA grant project on an interactive exhibition exploring how media, particularly images, encode cultural signals through historic textiles. At JSLab, Zeiad leads the HelioSkin project, which innovates a bioinspired solar-tracking building skin in collaboration with engineers, plant biologists, physicists, and industry partners.
Kobe Phillips
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE & Lab manager
Kobe Phillips is a graduate student in the M.S. Design Technology program at Cornell University.With a background in evolutionary biology, Kobe’s research centers on programmable ecologies—technologies and infrastructures that respond, adapt, and co-evolve with living systems. At Cornell, Kobe continues to develop new material interfaces and design methodologies that embody interdependence, sensory intelligence, and environmental responsiveness—shaping a future where design collaborates with, rather than controls, the living world.
Madison Feely
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Madison Feely is an undergraduate student pursuing a B.S. in Fiber Science and Apparel Design at Cornell University. Her research includes developing biologically inspired knit structures on manual and computerized knitting machines. Madison is interested in the textile engineering of knit and woven fabrics, and how these can be applied to everyday life.
Lauren Greene
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Lauren Greene is a graduate student in the M.S. Design Technology program at Cornell AAP and holds a B.Arch from the University of Houston. She is a licensed architect in her home state, Louisiana, and is interested in the intersection of technology and craft traditions. Her current research investigates textile techniques and their potential use at an architectural scale to enhance aesthetics, structural performance, and acoustics.
Yuji Kitamura
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Yuji Kitamura is a graduate student in the M.S. Design Technology program at Cornell University. Originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil and a Florida resident, Yuji holds a b.Arch from Florida Atlantic University, where he gathered experience with computational methods, generative AI in design, and acoustic simulations. From traditional brick and mortar projects, to more theoretical research , he is excited to be part of a team that is pushing the boundaries of what design can do. Yuji's long term goals are to apply and develop the research that was started during his undergraduate studies.
Xinlin Lu
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Xinlin Lu, a master’s student in the M.S. Design Technology program at Cornell University with an architectural background, is a Research Associate with JSLab and holds an M.S.D. in Robotics and Autonomous Systems from the University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests include robotic fabrication and computational design. Currently, her work focuses on developing adaptive design and fabrication processes that integrate robotics and machine learning to improve the flexibility of computational design in adapting to various material behaviors.
Marina Rosolem
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Marina Rosolem is a graduate student in the M.S. Design Technology program at Cornell AAP, and holds a B.Arch from California College of the Arts. Originally from São Paulo, Brazil, her research explores digital fabrication and biomaterials at the intersection of technology and traditional building techniques. Her current research investigates sustainable ways to create breezeblocks while using new technologies for a greener built environment.
Catherine Park
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Catherine Pak is an undergraduate student pursuing a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Cornell University. She is interested in the overlap between intentional design and sustainable energy, and she currently works on the HelioSkin project, an NSF-funded project aiming to design a bioinspired solar-tracking and harvesting skin. She is continuously inspired by how nature can educate engineering and design choices and hopes to develop her knowledge and skills in the realm of bioinspired design.
Bo Li
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Bo Li is a graduate student in the M.S. Design Technology program at Cornell University. With over a decade of experience in architectural and urban design, Bo previously served as a partner at a top 10 architectural firm in China. His work has received multiple design awards, contributing to projects such as China’s first-generation high-speed rail stations and public rental housing. He has worked extensively with Fortune 500 companies including China Vanke Co., Ltd., China Resources Land Limited, and Poly property. Currently, he is a research assistant at JS LAB, focusing on robotic fabrication, modular 3D printing, and robotic assembly, while also exploring AI-driven interactive design in architecture.
Gabriella Best
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Gabriella Best is an undergraduate student pursuing a B.A. in Computer Science at Cornell University. She is currently working on the NSF-funded URoL:EN project. Beyond her work in the JSLab, she is a software engineer on the Cornell Rocketry Team and training a machine learning model for wasp pose tracking through synthetic data generation. As a Milstein Program Scholar, she is passionate about exploring the interdisciplinary applications of emerging technologies.
Chi Zhang
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Chi Zhang, an undergraduate pursuing a B.Arch from Cornell University, is a research associate with JSLab. Chi’s primary research interests reside in digital fabrication and computational design. Prior to joining the team, Chi has worked at Robotic Construction Lab at Cornell as a research assistant and engaged extensively with free-form timber structure design and robotic bandsaw fabrication methods.
Alumni:
Alexia Asgari, Julia Barnoin, Jeremy Bilotti, Eda Begum Birol, Nicholas Cassab, Daniel Cellucci, Omar Dairi, Madeleine Eggers, Shuo Feng, Frances Gregor, Chenming He, John Hilla, Zhenxiang Huang, Jessica Jiang, Colby Johnson, Alexander Kyaw, Ian Limbaseanu, Anita Lin, Jingyang Liu Leo, Jasmine Liu, Andrew Lucia, Bowen Luo, Yehong Mi, Martin Miller, Mahshid Moghadasi, Andrew Moorman, Cameron Nelson, Bennett Norman, Giffen Ott, Jack Otto, Yifei Peng, Karolina Piorko, Ivania Rivera, Cardinal Robinson, David Rosenwasser, Jeeya Savani, Zada Stuart, Teng Teng, Hung Ming Tseng, Max Vanatta, Simin Wang, Alexander Wolkow, Daniel Woo, Liangjie Wu, Chisato Yamakawa, Hoon Yoon, Veronika Varga, Viola Zhang