William Burnett

Bill Burnett is a Consulting Assistant Professor in the Mechanical Engineer Department in the Design Group, and the Executive Director of Stanford's innovative Product Design program. One of the earliest interdepartmental majors, this undergraduate and graduate degree program combine curriculum from the Mechanical Engineering department and the Art department to produce human-centered, values-driven designers. A graduate of the program, Bill has designed a wide range of products, from award-winning Apple PowerBooks to the original Star Wars action figures. He holds a number of mechanical and design patents and design awards for a variety of products including the first slate computer. He teaches the senior capstone project class, a class called The Designers Voice, and the graduate Thesis project class called Design Garage with Professor David Kelley, the founder of IDEO. Bill's research and teaching are focused on enhancing human creativity, entrepreneurship, and technology innovation. In addition to his duties at Stanford, he is a on the Board of D2M Inc, a product design and innovation consultancy, Dalson Energy, an alternative energy company focused on developing biomass gasification energy systems for small-scale municipalities, and advises several Internet start-up companies.

Currently teaching