20 years of IDM celebrated at the Fall 2024 Showcase

The showcase of student projects organized by the Integrated Design & Media (IDM) program is always guaranteed to wow, and the Fall 2024 event was no exception. If you’ve ever wanted to explore the possibility of living in a floating micro-house on the Hudson, take a multisensory journey through space, or hear what a 50-speaker Dolby Atmos system can do when used to challenge conventional notions of music, you could do all that and more.

This December’s edition was even more dynamic than usual, since it coincided with the 20th anniversary of IDM — which had been launched in 2004 to foster creative practice, design research, and multidisciplinary experimentation with emerging media technologies. “I'm super proud of Tandon's IDM program and all we've accomplished over the last 20 years,” said Program Director and Department Co-Chair R. Luke DuBois. “It's been a privilege to work with such amazing students and such brilliant colleagues, and it's been an honor for us all to work at a school that embraces creativity and design as core values within engineering.”

The showcase was accompanied by a panel of IDM alumni (including Alexis Zerafa, Cadence Daniels, Spencer Capiello, James Lee, and Sylvia Ke), veterans of showcases of their own. “I am so proud of what these IDM alumni have accomplished since graduating. I was particularly moved by how their core values have guided their career moves — Sylvia Ke's presentation was especially open, honest, vulnerable, and brave,” said IDM Industry Professor and NYU Associate Vice Provost De Angela Duff. “James Lee's passionate problem-solving and Alexis Zerafa's ability to turn her passions into freelance opportunities were both incredible. Hearing about what stuck from their time at IDM warmed my heart! The one that aligned squarely with my number-one pedagogical goal above all others was Spencer Cappiello's “Learning How to Learn.” Hearing Cadence Daniels recite back the power of feedback in my own words was also incredibly touching. One never really knows if they are making an impact until after some time has passed; knowing these fundamental ideas have stuck is a powerful reminder of why I continue to teach after 25 years. I can't wait to see what they do next!”