All Courses

CSCI 1953B

Special Topics in Computational Design and Fabrication

Course Description

This course explores the core mathematical, algorithmic, and computational principles that drive modern design tools, focusing on digital design representations, generative design, optimization, and interactive exploration. Students will learn to develop computational models for automating design processes, implement algorithms for shape generation and performance evaluation, and integrate digital design with fabrication techniques such as 3D printing, laser cutting, and machine knitting. The course includes hands-on assignments and a final project where students build their own computational design workflow.

Syllabus (PDF)Ed Discussion Board

Grading

ComponentPercentage
Assignments50%
Course Project35%
Participation15%

Assignments

AssignmentReleasedDue
HW101/28/202602/12/2026
HW202/12/202602/26/2026
HW302/25/202603/19/2026
HW403/18/202604/09/2026
HW504/08/202604/23/2026

Final Project

MilestoneDate
Project Group Forming Activity02/18/2026
Project Part 1: Domain-Specific Design Interface03/09/2026
Project Part 2: Fabrication Demonstration04/01/2026
Project Part 3: Automatic Design Generation05/04/2026

Lectures

01/21/2026Overview & Admin
01/26/2026No class: Snow Day
01/28/2026Design Representations Part 1: Data Structures
02/02/2026Design Representations Part 2: More on Data Structures
02/04/2026Design Representations Part 3: Programs
02/09/2026Design Spaces Part 1: Symbolic Spaces
02/12/2026Design Spaces Part 2: Variations from a Single Example
02/16/2026No class: Holiday
02/18/2026Design Spaces Part 3: Learned Spaces from a Collection
02/23/2026Design Spaces Part 4: NeuroSymbolic Design Spaces / Project Planning
02/25/2026Fabrication Part 1: Hardware Abstractions
03/02/2026Fabrication Part 2: BDW (3D Printing/ Laser Cutting)
03/04/2026Fabrication Part 3: BDW (3D Printing/ Laser Cutting)
03/09/2026Project Part 1 presentation
03/11/2026Fabrication Part 4: Knitting
03/16/2026Design Evaluation Part 1: Intro to Sim
03/18/2026Design Evaluation Part 2: FEA, Learning
03/23/2026No class: Spring Break
03/25/2026No class: Spring Break
03/30/2026Design Evaluation Part 3: Sustainability
04/01/2026Project Part 2 presentation
04/06/2026Design Optimization Part 1: Continuous and Discrete Optimization
04/08/2026No class: Adriana OOF
04/13/2026Design Optimization Part 2: Topology Optimization
04/15/2026Design Optimization Part 3: Multi-Objective Optimization
04/20/2026Design Optimization Part 4: Bi-level and Bayesian Optimization
04/22/2026Design Exploration Part 1: Visualization and Interactive Exploration
04/27/2026Design Exploration Part 2: Inference
04/29/2026Design Exploration Part 3: Accessibility
05/04/2026Final Project Presentations

Note: The lecture plan is tentative and subject to change. Slides will be posted and updated throughout the course.

Computational Design Example

Course Logistics

Lecture Time

Monday/Wednesday, 9:00–10:20 AM

Location

CIT Center 101

TA

Vivian Li (She/Her) Oras Phongpanangam (He/Him)

Office Hours

Oras: Tuesday 1-2pm Vivian: Friday 3-4pm In CIT 205 (CDG Lab) (Additional hours available by appointment)