Collaborators are individual researchers actively involved in collaborative work with us on current projects, who have read and agreed to qLab’s commitments; and who want to be recognized as collaborators.

Collaborators may include research assistants when the scope and level of their commitment is appropriate.

current collaborators

Gerry Derksen is a full Professor of Design at Winthrop University in South Carolina and a PhD student in Informatics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  Under Jorge Frascara at the University of Alberta, Canada he studied visual communication design, integrating user-centred design philosophy with visual communication strategies. His graduate research, entitled “Jury Perceptions of Animation,” studied re-enactments of a crime scene to determine possible prejudicial impact on a jury. He has also worked on experience design projects for the Piedmont Medical Center and the Democratic National Convention, as well as systems design projects for Grainger Hardware and Steelcase Office Furniture. With qlab: interface design.

Priscilla Ferronato is a Ph.D. student in Informatics at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, researching the intersection between design, technology, and society. She is a research assistant interested in the development of new models of interpretation and the de-centering of the human in the open (meta) design process, particularly in the context of addressing social problems. Priscilla has been working with strategic design for the last 5 years and has an MDes in Strategic Design from the University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos, on the subject of slow and fast thinking, emphasizing the use of intuition in the design process. She has also collaborated as a visiting scholar at IIT Institute of Design in Chicago, University of Waterloo and Politecnico di Milano. With qlab: experience design.

Lisa Aikman is a doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto’s Centre for Drama, Theatre, and Performance Studies. Her research focuses on the working methods and resultant dramaturgies in Canadian documentary theatre. She is interested in how our dominant dramaturgies shape audience encounters with would-be strangers, and how they cast spectators in relation to one another.

Matt White is co-founder and artistic director of Green Light Arts theatre company. He is an arts professional with over fifteen years of experience working as a director, actor, dramaturg, educator and theatre producer. For five years Matt produced theatre with Necessary Angel Theatre Company, one of Canada’s foremost contemporary theatre companies. As an educator, Matt spent three years as a guest instructor in the Sheridan College/University of Toronto at Mississauga theatre program teaching courses in Chekhov, coaching tutorials, and preparing actors for Theatre Ontario showcases. In 2015, he joined the University of Waterloo’s Department of Communication Arts as a sessional instructor. Matt holds an MA in Theatre from the University of Toronto’s Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance. With qlab: Theatre for Relationality.

Carin Lowerison is co-founder and managing director of Green Light Arts theatre company. She is an arts professional with over fifteen years of experience in the industry. Carin has been an executive arts administrator and theatre producer for 10 years, 5 of which were as the Producer and General Manager of fu-GEN Theatre Company in Toronto. Carin is also an accomplished movement specialist in Waterloo Region. She is a sessional instructor in the Theatre & Performance Program at the University of Waterloo and teaches regularly at Queen Street Yoga and Amma Yoga. Carin holds an Honours B.A. in Theatre & Drama Studies, a joint program between the University of Toronto and Sheridan College, as well as an Associate Diploma in Voice Recital from Trinity College London. With qlab: Theatre for Relationality.

friendly faces from past projects

  • Shawn DeSouza-Coelho
  • Liza Giffen
  • Abbie Goulet
  • Darius Hahn
  • Kathryn Harvey
  • Andreea Hluscu
  • William Innes
  • Janelle Jenstad
  • Mark Kaethler
  • Toby Malone
  • Carla Rodrigo
  • Glenn Stillar
  • Joey Takeda
  • Sandy Thi
  • Erik Van Dijk
  • Chelsea Vanoverbeke
  • Annaka Willemsen
  • Andrea Zehr
  • Xinyue Zhou