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Kelly Umstead

Associate Professor of Industrial Design + Director of Graduate Programs for ID

Bio

Kelly Umstead is an Assistant Professor of Industrial Design with professional experience rooted in research. She began her career as a biomedical engineer focusing on biomechanics and human movement with applications ranging from gait analysis and rehabilitation to sports science and aquatics.

Prior to joining the Industrial Design faculty, Kelly was a medical device product manager at Bioventus LLC, an orthobiologics company. During the last 10 years, Kelly worked in product development, specializing in medical device design and product usability. Her work employing a design process which integrates multiple stakeholder voices received the Human Centered Design Award, presented at the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society International Meeting.

Kelly’s experience in product design has always been human-centric, from acquiring user needs to translating those needs into viable products. Her research interests focus on healthcare, medical device development, user-centered design, and design methodology.

Education

Master of Industrial Design NC State University

Master of Biomedical Engineering Marquette University

B.S. Biological Engineering NC State University