Tom Weis works with a team of faculty members to guide graduate students through their year-long thesis projects. He teaches undergraduate courses on such topics as advanced prototyping, aquaponics and global security. Drawing upon a background in sculpture, cabinetry and wooden boatbuilding, Weis pursued industrial design to further develop his creative process. It is this process that has led his work into such places as the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, Time magazine’s Best Inventions of 2010 and Mass General Hospital’s Russell MD Museum of History and Innovation. Weis is the co-founder of the design firms, Hello, we are ___ and the Steel House.

Since 2015, Weis has explored how design and creativity might work to reduce nuclear threats. He has presented at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Disruptive Futures Nuclear Weapons Summit and has led collaborative workshops with design students and cadets at the US Military Academy at West Point. Weis recently initiated a Global Security Fellowship at RISD. He is working with two fellows exploring communication challenges around strategic stability and youth outreach. He is also working with a multidisciplinary team developing new concepts related to nuclear verification issues.

Fall 2018 Courses

• ID-24ST-06 Advanced Design: Studio
• ID-20ST-04 Special Topic Design Studio

Wintersession 2019 Courses

• ID-240G-01 Grad Intro To Industrial Design

Spring 2019 Courses

• ID-248G-01 Graduate Thesis Making