New Media DE & Certificate Cohort — Fall 2026
We are thrilled to welcome our new cohort of new media students. This group of interdisciplinary scholars come from Film and Media, Information Science, Spanish and Portuguese, Envrionmental Design, Art Practice, Engineering, and Landscape Architecture!
Designated Emphasis
Botond Bognar: After working in industry for more then two decades, Bognar returned to academia where he is a fourth year Ph.D. student at the College of Environmental Design at the University of California, Berkeley. His interdisciplinary research spans across spatial design, information science, and human-computer interaction within the theoretical framework of human-technology relations with a focus on embodied interaction and spatial interfaces within extended reality (XR) environments. Prior to his studies, Bognar had the privilege to work with renowned architects and designers such as Tadao Ando, Ron Arad, and Ilse Crawford as their clients. After that he co-founded two startups in Silicon Valley, REscan and Pillantas, in collaboration with Stanford Research Institute (SRI) and NASA scientists respectively, where he am still engaged in a part time capacity. Bognar's work entails the research, design and development of spatial scanners, 3D digital reconstruction, and novel human computer interfaces within spatial computing. For his innovations Bognar received seven issued patents and under my design lead, REscan’s Spatial Communication System won three Red Dot Design Awards in Mobile UX, Mobile UI, and the Best of the Best distinction in Communication category in 2021. Bognar also holds an MA in Political Science from Central European University and an MS/BS in Social Policy from Eötvös Lóránt University, Budapest, Hungary.
David Cao is a PhD student in Computer Science. Engaging the intersection of programming languages research, human-computer interaction, and decolonial science and technology studies, their research work focuses on the materiality and political economy of programming practices. Currently, they are working to codesign programming tools with legal advocates and archivists. David was previously a UC Berkeley Chancellor's Fellow and a Computational Research for Equity in the Legal System Fellow. They hold a B.S. in Computer Science and a B.A. in Ethnic Studies from UC San Diego.
Sonja Thiel is a Ph.D. student in the Department of German at UC Berkeley. Her research combines critical theory, museology, new media theory and practices, and the ethics of artificial intelligence, examining notions of digital museum collections and the ways emerging technologies reshape cultural heritage. Previously, Sonja worked as Digital Catalyst for AI at the Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe (Germany), where she developed an AI-based curation tool and helped build the AI & Museums (DE) network. She is co-editor of the volume AI in Museums – Reflections, Perspectives, and Applications. Previously Sonja studied philosophy and history at the Humboldt University in Berlin and worked as a museum curator and coordinator of museum studies in Germany, with positions in Frankfurt, Freiburg, and Karlsruhe.
Graduate Certificate
Jiatong Cui is currently a Master of Landscape Architecture student at UC Berkeley. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Public Art and Experience Design from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, where she developed a strong interest in spatial design, interaction, and user-centered experience design. Her research focuses on the design and fabrication of interactive installations and immersive environments, emphasizing intuitive forms of interaction and multisensory spatial experiences. She is particularly interested in how digital and physical media can be integrated within spatial frameworks to expand modes of public participation, foster emotional engagement, and support new experiential relationships between users and space. Her broader interests include human–computer interaction, experience architecture, and immersive spatial narratives. In the future, she continues to explore how landscape, interaction, and user experience intersect to inform adaptive, engaging, and culturally responsive environments.
Elisa Lupin-Jimenez is a Master of Design student in the College of Engineering and College of Environmental Design. Previously a software engineer in the virtual reality industry, Elisa is passionate about blending technology and art to create in-person, immersive experiences designed to foster community and curiosity. Their portfolio includes a simulated spaceship installation and a motion-mapped "bioluminescent" wooden artifact. Outside the studio, Elisa enjoys video games, art festivals, and singing cartoon covers. Voyage through their work at elisalupin.com.
Zhiyu Jiang is now pursuing the Master of Landscape Architecture in UC Berkeley, learning how people move through physical spaces, how environments shape behavior, and how meaning emerges over time rather than in a single moment.
Over time, she became increasingly interested in applying this way of thinking to digital products — treating interfaces as experiential spaces, interactions as designed journeys, and systems as something that evolves with human use.
This shift led her to focus on interaction design and UX research, where spatial thinking, system logic, and human-centered inquiry naturally converge.
Ziyue Sun is an interdisciplinary designer in the intersection of architecture, digital media, and interactive spatial storytelling. Her research interest lies in the design strategies and platforms that facilitate public discourse in architecture and design, including publication, exhibition, film, user interfaces and participatory practices. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Design from the University of Hong Kong and is currently pursuing a Master of Architecture degree at UC Berkeley. In her previous practices, she was developing methods for archiving architectural projects and urban spaces by 3D Scanning and AI-tools. She likes to explore new stuff. Check out some of her works here: https://zysundesign.net/