Saddqa Bahidrah is a Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch ’27) student minoring in Sustainability at Pratt Institute. Originally from Saudi Arabia, his work explores sustainable material innovation, culture, food, and community. He serves as President of the AIAS Pratt Chapter, Editor-in-Chief of Fig & Olive magazine, and Undergraduate Student Trustee on Pratt’s Board of Trustees, while also competing on Pratt’s NCAA Division III tennis team.

A trained chef and former national culinary competitor, Saddqa integrates food and design in projects like Farm to Fork and Root Cause, a biomaterial research initiative exhibited at Pratt’s Research Open House. His team earned Honorable Mention at the 2025 NOMA Barbara G. Laurie Competition. He is currently developing sustainable cladding materials from corn stalks and eggshells.

Jo is a Masters of Industrial Design student. She received a BA in Environmental Studies from Vassar College and a Master of Education from Johns Hopkins University.

Jo’s interest in material exploration stems from a passion to understand how things are made and how to use materials in unexpected ways. With professional experience in education, project management, and curriculum design, Jo brings a multidisciplinary approach to her practice, integrating storytelling, creativity, and functionality to produce thoughtful, unconventional designs.

Allie is a Master of Industrial Design (MID ’26) student at Pratt Institute. She holds a BS in Business Administration (Markets, Innovation, and Design) from Bucknell University. Her work integrates research—ranging from art history application to lived experience—with hands-on exploration, shaping a design practice that spans accessories, consumer goods, sculpture, and digital interfaces.

Her current thesis project redirects Mardi Gras behaviors and rituals, creating an outlet for collecting and upcycling beads into the following year’s festivities.

Pranathi is a graduate student in the Masters of Industrial Design (MID) program at Pratt’s School of Design. She holds a Bachelor’s in Design, specializing in Lifestyle Accessory Design from NIFT, New Delhi. Afterward, she worked as a product designer in the global south development sector, focusing on decentralized renewable energy solutions for small-scale entrepreneurs in agriculture and animal husbandry.

With a strong background in research and innovation strategy, Pranathi’s work emphasizes climate action, sustainable production, and community resilience. She is particularly interested in exploring production scales, material manipulation, and the long-term use and care of objects.

In her free time, Pranathi loves cooking, traveling, and exploring new skills and hobbies. She seeks to immerse herself in art, music, films, nature, and a variety of experiences—always on the lookout for something new to discover.

Tina is a Master’s student in Industrial Design at Pratt Institute. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Product and Interior Design from NABA, Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan.

Originally from Tbilisi, Georgia, her practice explores the intersection of contemporary design, material experimentation, cultural rituals and environmental responsibility. She is drawn to the physicality of design, the tactile act of making and the evolving relationship between people and the objects they use.

Tina has experience as a furniture designer at a local design and architecture studio in Georgia, where she managed projects from concept to production. During this time, she participated in several exhibitions, including Milan Design Week 2023, presenting an installation that explored natural light through a historic building’s skylight.

Gwendolyn is pursuing an MFA in Interior Design at Pratt Institute, set to graduate in Spring 2026. She holds a BBA in Operations Management from the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College, CUNY. She’s always been interested in the systems and processes behind building things—and likes keeping multiple projects going at once. Keeping her passion for building, she’s further exploring the possibilities and impact that materials bring to her design projects, adding a creative edge to how they shape the spaces we inhabit.

Jay Lemire is Director of the Production Labs at Pratt Institute School of Design, in addition to overseeing the Material Lab, where he leads a range of programming, mentorship, and professional development initiatives that revolve around material literacy and design research. Prior to joining Pratt, Jay served as Research Specialist at Robert A.M. Stern Architects, and before that managed research to support design and business development at Ralph Lauren, in New York. From 2007 to 2012, Jay worked at the Frick Collection, where he served as Reference Clerk in the Frick Art Research Library.

Jay has been a visiting instructor at Pratt Institute, and a teaching assistant at New York School of Interior Design. Jay holds a BA in English Literature from Marymount Manhattan College, where he founded the college's first Literary Society and served as President of Sigma Tau Delta (The International English Honor Society); he also holds an MA in Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture from Bard Graduate Center. He is a recipient of the Winterthur Research Fellowship.

Daniella is a graduate student in the Masters of Architecture (M.ARCH) program at Pratt. She received her Bachelor’s in Architecture from the University of Virginia as well as a minor in fine arts in 2024. Working on sustainability research and the intersection of human and animal material impacts, her work has focused on the ecological and cultural implications of architecture. During architectural internships, Daniella has worked directly with in-house material libraries and in client meetings to discuss material selections, pallets, and visions for space.

In her free time, Daniella loves spending time with her horse, Caspian, reading books of all genres, and drawing. Because of her long history with horses, she hopes to continue designing intentional projects with a focus on intentional material selection for both the human and nonhuman experience.

MJ is a current graduate student in the Museums and Digital Culture program in the School of Information. She received her bachelors in Anthropology from Texas A&M University in 2024. While in undergrad, she worked in the Collections Department at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum. In her personal life, she enjoys crocheting, playing Stardew Valley, and hanging out with her cat, Pedro. 

Her special interests include museum collection management, digital preservation, and metadata upkeep. She hopes to use her experience at the Material Lab in her future career as a footing for the importance of material knowledge in museum collections. After graduation, she hopes to work in a registrar or collections management position in a history museum or archive. 

Jamie is a Masters of Industrial Design student in the School of Design at Pratt. Raised in Seattle, he received a BS in Society & Environment at the College of Natural Resources at UC Berkeley, with a minor in Journalism. After graduating, he has worked as an environmental educator, line cook, and illustrator.

With a background in visual arts and environmental studies, Jamie has come to Pratt with hopes to design with a well-developed social conscience and imaginative touch at the center of his work.

Zoë is a graduate student at the Pratt School of Information studying Library and Information Science with a concentration in archives. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Film History, Theory, and Criticism and Literature from Bard College. Alongside working for the Material Lab, Zoë also volunteers at the Museum of the Moving Image and works with digitizing parts of their collections. 

Zoë’s interests include the digitization, preservation, and accessibility of cultural history, particularly in the realm of popular culture and entertainment. She also is interested in media literacy and education, critical analysis, and research into the specific works of media that were popular in the past century with a focus on the Old Hollywood era.