On February 11, 2023, Micheal Kowalski successfully defended his doctoral thesis entitled “Positive Sustainability: Unlocking Complementary Potential for Sustainability and Subjective Well-Being Through Design.” The thesis was advised by Dr. Jay Yoon of Human Centered Design, Dr. Anthony Ong of Psychology, and Dr. Malte Jung of Information Science.

Dr. Michael Kowalski recently accepted and started an assistant professorship at Syracuse University, NY.
Congratulations, Dr. Kowalski!

Summary

This doctoral dissertation investigates sustainability and subjective well-being in relation to the theory and practice of design. The research strands of design for sustainability and design for subjective well-being have grown over the last several decades, though have remained siloed, with minimal investigation across these high-level concerns. Generating further understanding in this area and developing strategies for practicing designers to integrate the concerns of sustainability and subjective well-being in their work, three connected areas of investigation were undertaken. The three studies connect the end-users of design, professional designers, and the designed artifacts that unite them.