Matter of Tech Lab
Cornell Tech, NYC
We envision a future in which digital fabrication provides real value to end-uses. Machines have gotten more capable and affordable leading to broad adoption by enthusiasts. We have seen this pattern in with digital computing itself; computer clubs in the 80s allowed enthusiasts to build cool tech demos, but these remained largely irrelevant to the broader society. We believe we will not bridge the gap to the other 99% of people by making better tools for makers.
In the Matter of Tech Lab, we investigate how to increase the quality and complexity of models by allowing users to build on the work of others. This will allow non-experts to create meaningful and useful models (in contrast to what is commonly fabricated by enthusiasts). We build tools to increase portability of models, and facilitate remixing at different levels of granularity. We build environments to troubleshoot hardware, allowing users with less skill to build more advanced projects. And finally, we develop form factors for fabrication machines to gradually integrate in the lives of the other 99% of people. We publish our work at top-tier HCI conferences ACM CHI, ACM UIST, and ACM SCF.
If you want to work with us: jump right here
Team
Ofer Berman
Post-doc
(PhD with Ezri Tarazi at Technion)
Ilan Mandel
PhD Student
(co-advised)
Teaching
2026 Spring: INFO 5380 Digital Fabrication(info coming)
2025 Fall: INFO 6410 HCI and Design (info coming)
2025 Spring: INFO 6513 Research Agendas in HCI Engineering
2024 Fall: INFO 6410 HCI and Design
2024 Spring: INFO 5380 Digital Fabrication
2023 Fall: INFO 6410 HCI and Design
2023 Spring: INFO 5380 Digital Fabrication
2022 Fall: INFO 6410 HCI and Design
Applications
Thank you for interest in joining the Matter of Tech Lab!PhD Syllabus: what it is like to PhD with me?
PhD applicants: we are looking for our next rockstars! To apply, use this form to share your interests with the team and apply to Information Science or Computer Science at the official Cornell Application System
Master/other students or prospective doctoral interns: we are always interested in creating opportunities to join some of our ongoing projects. Use this form to share your interest. We promise we try to get back to you as soon as possible!
Contact Us
matteroftechlab@gmail.comTata Innovation Center
11 E Loop Rd,
New York, NY 10044
United States of America
Alumni
2025, Xuening Wang (master student, CM), independent studies) 2025, Yifan Shan (master student, CM), independent studies) 2025, William Reid (master student HT, independent studies) 2025, Andrew Park (master student UT, independent studies) 2024, Zekai Shen (undergraduate CS Northeastern, research assistant) 2024, Maria Tane (undergraduate CS Barnard College, research intern) 2024, Peter He (undergraduate IS, research intern) 2024, Yixuan Wang (master student UT, independent studies) 2024, Leonardo Bueno (master student CS, independent studies) 2024, Han Jun Kim (master student AAP, thesis project) 2024, Lewis Fitzgerald Campbell (master student FSAD, thesis project) 2024, Henry Sanchez (master student FSAD, thesis project) 2023, Maia Hirsch (undergraduate student ME Technion, thesis project) 2023, Cindy Yang (master student Harvard, research intern) 2023, Justin Moore (master student CS, independent studies) 2023, Nicholas Burka (master student CS, independent studies) 2023, Albina Krasykova (undergraduate summer intern, BTT AI) 2023, Fahad Tahir (undergraduate summer intern, BTT AI) 2023, Albert Han (research intern) --> now PhD at Indiana University Bloomington