Virginia Tech

Tom Martin is the Executive Director of ICAT; he is also a professor in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering with courtesy appointments in the School of Architecture, the School of Design, and the Departments of Engineering Education and Computer Science. He has also served as the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine’s associate dean for strategic research advancement. Before returning to ICAT last year, Martin was on a temporary assignment as a program director for the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Smart Health and Human-Centered Computing programs.

Lisa D. McNair is a Professor of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech and Director of the Center for Educational Networks and Impacts (CENI) at the Institute for Creativity, Arts and Technology (ICAT). As part of the Creativity + Innovation initiative, she led the transdisciplinary team that created the Innovation Pathway Minor, which includes the Create!, StartUp, and Innovation in Society courses. Her work in CENI focused on building networks between the university and multiple community sectors and supporting engagement in science, engineering, arts, and design. Her overarching goal is to develop learning experiences that are research-informed and that transverse perspectives within and beyond the university. Her other learning pursuits include hiking & e-biking, boxing, and sculpture. Way before all of this, she earned a PhD in Linguistics at the University of Chicago, and an M.A. and B.A. in English at the University of Georgia.

Described as “brilliant” (Opera Today) and “alluringly complex” (Opera News), Ariana Wyatt’s recent opera engagements include appearances with Gotham Chamber Opera, Opera on the James, Opera Omaha, Opera Roanoke, Glimmerglass Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera, the Juilliard Opera Center, and the Aspen Opera Theater. Her 2020 recording Let Evening Come: American Songs Old and New was named one of the best classical recordings of 2020 by the Chicago Tribune. Ms. Wyatt is a graduate of the Juilliard Opera Center and the University of Southern California.  She is an associate professor of voice and the Associate Dean for Outreach and Engagement for the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design at Virginia Tech.

Professor Karine Dupre, an architect and urban designer, serves as Associate Dean of Research and Creative Scholarship for the College of Architecture, Arts and Design at Virginia Tech.

She is passionate about mentorship and empowerment, strategic thinking, impact delivering and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration on campus and beyond. As a researcher, Professor Dupre focuses on the design processes that can make cities and communities more resilient and sustainable. She is an expert on social design and live projects, with work building upon and emphasizing collaboration and co-creativity.

Prior to Virginia Tech, Professor Dupre has held a variety of leadership positions in academic administration and research: a cluster leader for the Griffith Institute for Tourism (ranked top 5 in the world), head of the Architecture at Griffith University (Australia) and head of the School of Architecture at the National Institute of Applied Sciences in Strasbourg, France.

Dupre earned a Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture from Ecole d’Architecture de Paris Charenton and a Research Master in history and anthropology from the University Antilles-Guyane (UAG), France. She has also earned a Ph.D. in urban planning and design from Tampere Technical University in Finland and a Ph.D. in modern history from UAG.