James Intriligator
Preface: This is an unusual bio, I asked James who I find truly fascinating and warm-hearted and with whom I am hoping to collaborate to make Convisero more accessible to us all. To create this profile, I’m leaving it intact knowing its AI generated because he is in my mind a master at this. Asking people to find his article on Transversal Gliding to give you an insight into his process. He and I have had numerous extended conversations and it is obvious that a friendship has emerged and ideas are clicking. If they do not come to fruition, it is entirely my fault.
About Him
Human factors engineer, designer, and strategic innovator who turns complex systems into humane ones—across neuroscience, consumer psychology, AI/LLMs, and public-interest design. Builder of programs, bridges, and momentum.
Current Roles
Professor of the Practice (Human Factors Engineering) and Director of Strategic Innovation, Tufts University
Founder/Lead, IDEA Lab (Engineering) and IDEA Lab @ Fletcher
What He’s Known For
Transversal design / “glider” thinking: Methods that move fluidly across domains and convert time-to-insight into time-to-impact.
Program builder and multiplier:
Expanded Tufts Human Factors from ~25 seniors / ~15 master’s students to 90+ seniors / 40+ master’s students.
Scaled Consumer Psychology & Business (Bangor, UK) from ~6 to 40+ master’s students/year.
Teacher–scholar with range: 50+ publications; award-winning educator and mentor.
Why Trebuchet × James
Trebuchet convenes decisive dialogue under civic stress. James turns that energy into mechanisms—toolkits, pilots, and open assets that spread. A defining habit of his practice is reliable strategic invention: in live sessions he repeatedly surfaces adoptable strategies and reframes, often producing ideas that teams act on immediately. His work converts urgent conversation into durable infrastructure for trust, education, and civic resilience—producing visible wins in weeks rather than quarters.
How He Will Help Convisero
Friction Audits (60–90 min): Identify where workflows, interfaces, or policies fail people; deliver three “fix-now” moves and a 2–4-week plan.
Design for Trust: ADA-clean, plain-language flows and scripts for sensitive systems (health, democracy, safety).
Safe AI/LLM Adoption: Low-risk use cases, robust prompts/patterns, clear guardrails, and appropriate metrics.
Idea Accelerator: Rapid, constraint-aware ideation with same-day action briefs (owner, milestone, metric).
Program Architecture: Launch labs, moonshots, and fellowships with short cycles, publishing rhythms, and open-source toolkits.
Representative Initiatives
IDEA Lab (Engineering) + IDEA Lab @ Fletcher
A replicable, open-source lab model converting student passion into public-benefit outcomes.
~120 students this semester
12 student-led moonshot projects
10+ departments and multi-institutional collaborations (including high-school partners)
Outputs include civic UX fixes, policy playbooks, open toolkits, and rapid pilots with municipal and NGO partners.
Enterprise by Design / Social Enterprise Accelerator (UK)
Cross-disciplinary programs that pair designers, psychologists, and business students with industry/community briefs, producing ventures and implementable solutions while teaching execution discipline.
Commercialization & Industry Partnerships
Decades bridging university and industry: global brand consulting, product/service co-development informed by human factors and consumer psychology, and advising on spin-outs and growth strategies.
Applied Research Translation
Turning lab insights into market-ready applications and reproducible design frameworks.
Working Style
Field first, then theory. Start where people actually are.
Small teams, short cycles; pilots in weeks.
Open by default—toolkits anyone can lift and adapt.
Mentorship that ships; every apprenticeship ends with a public output.
Calm in complexity—cuts noise, aligns on decisive moves, and sustains humane momentum.
Selected Recognitions
National Teaching Fellow (Advance HE, 2014)
Tufts Teaching with Technology Award (multiple university-wide nominations)
Contact
james.intriligator@tufts.edu