Prof. Rachel Cooper is Professor of Design at the University of Lancaster, where she is Director of Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts and ImaginationLancaster (a centre for research into products, places and systems for the future). Her research interests cover design thinking; design management; design policy; new product development; design in the built environment; design against crime and socially responsible design. She has recently led VivaCity2020 Sustainable Urban Design for the 24 Hour City, a £3m EPSRC funded project over five years looking at Manchester, London and Sheffield, is currently working on Urban Futures, developing alternative scenarios for sustainable regeneration. She has authored several books in the field and is editor for a series on Socially Responsible Design.
