INDUSTRIAL Faculty biographies

Carl Garant, dean of industrial & interior design, has written, taught, and lectured about design and the design process throughout his career as both lecturer and practitioner. He is the author of the books The Tao of Design, The Tao of the Circles, and The Designer's Book of Change. Carl holds both a BFA and MFA in industrial design from the University of Illinois, Urbana.

Joel Gundlach, industrial & interior design professor since 1987, has taught many industrial design courses including industrial & interior design studios, portfolio, furniture design, and drawing. He maintains an active freelance practice designing and fabricating custom furniture. His clients include the Columbus Museum of Art, Lancaster Colony Design, CCAD, and several local design firms. Mr. Gundlach received a BFA in industrial design from CCAD and an MA in education from the University of Dayton.

Thomas J. Kier, industrial & interior design professor, is the chair of the industrial design department and teaches industrial design studio II, III, and IV, as well as furniture and toy design. Mr. Kier is professionally active and has worked as a design consultant for Designer Glass International where he assists in the design and development of new decorative glass products. Mr. Kier has also worked with the Ohio Exposition Center & State Fair, where he researched, designed, and fabricated historically accurate models of the Ohio State Fair including the 1850, 1907, 1950, and 2002 state fairs. Mr. Kier’s recently completed work has included scale models for such movies as: The Mists of Avalon, Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and The Passion of the Christ. His design activities include design and construction of custom commercial and residential furniture. Mr. Kier received a BFA in industrial design from CCAD and an MS in education from the University of Dayton.

Christopher Marks, industrial design adjunct instructor, teaches Solidworks computer modeling. Mr. Marks earned his BSID in product design from the Ohio State University. He is currently employed as a senior industrial designer at Priority Designs where he is involved in all aspects of the product design process. Visit: prioritydesigns.com.

Christopher Sauerzopf, interior & industrial design adjunct instructor, teaches computer modeling. He has a BFA from CCAD in industrial design. Mr. Sauerzopf works at Eagle Exhibit Services as a designer and handles all of the company’s computer modeling needs. He has worked on designs for clients such as Nationwide, AEP, Bath & Body Works, Fitch, and Ohio Health.

Aaron Searles, industrial & interior design adjunct instructor, teaches modeling techniques and presentation techniques. He earned a BFA from CCAD in industrial design. Mr. Searles has experience in both graphic and product design, and currently works as an industrial designer for Anchor Hocking Glass Co. in Lancaster, Ohio. He maintains an active freelance practice in graphic and identity design.

Aniket Vardhan, industrial & interior design assistant professor, teaches three-dimensional modeling and CADD-related courses. He has a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi, and an MFA in industrial design from Rochester Institute of Technology. He has worked on projects ranging from architecture and interior design to industrial products, transport design, and guitars.

Tom Williamson, industrial & interior design assistant professor, received his BA in history and his MBA from George Washington University, and his BSID from the University of Cincinnati. Mr. Williamson has worked in manufacturing management and retail management. His professional design experience includes human factors consulting and retail-fixture design.