Jonas Hauptman is a Co-Founder of the VT Bio Design Research Group & Associate Professor of Industrial Design at Virginia Tech in the United States where his teaching focuses on materials & processes, design, and architecture.  His research explores various materials including recycled plastics, fungi, and bamboo with a focus on decarbonizing the built environment by developing novel building materials systems.  He has won several prestigious awards including the 2004 University of Michigan's Oberdick Fellowship, and a 2018 AIA Upjohn award. He is a member of the International Bamboo and Rattan Organizations Construction Task Force and faculty advisor for a 2021 Musk Foundation, Carbon XPrize team.  His work has been featured in the media including Architect, Metropolis, Dwell, the New York Times, and others. Finally, recently his video “Building with Biology” was included in the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale.  He has lectured and delivered keynotes at many bamboo and sustainability conferences internationally including those in Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Philippines, Vietnam, Mainland China + Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Rwanda