Rachel Cooper

Rachel Cooper is Professor of Design at the University of Lancaster, where she is Director of Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts and Imagination@Lancaster. Her research interests cover design management; design policy; new product development; design in the built environment; design against crime and socially responsible design. She has authored several books in the field including The Design Agenda (1995) and The Design Experience (2003) and is currently commissioning editor for an Ashgate series on Socially Responsible Design. She has undertaken research for the Home Office, DTI, the Design Council  and leading UK companies and currently leads ‘Vivacity 2020’ Sustainable Urban Design for the 24 Hour City, a £3m EPSRC funded project over five years looking at Manchester, London and Sheffield.

Professor Cooper has undertaken several advisory roles to national and international universities, government and non-governmental orgnisations. She was a member of Infrastructure and Environment Strategic Advisory Team of the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) until 2005. Professor Cooper was panel convenor for visual arts and media practice, history, theory Postgraduate awards between 2000 & 2005 and currently sits on the Council of the  UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). She is also a member of the advisory panel on the AHRC/ESRC Cultures of Consumption programme and chairs the advisory panel for the Designing for the 21st Century initiative. Professor Cooper has been appointed to sit on Panel 63 Art and Design of the forthcoming Research Assessment Exercise in the UK and is currently chairing a review of Postgraduate awards for the AHRC. . Professor Cooper is President of the European Academy of Design, and Editor of The Design Journal.