Harold G. Nelson

Dr. Nelson is the 2009-10 Nierenberg Distinguished Professor of Design in the School of Design at Carnegie Mellon University and an affiliated faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington. He is a Senior Instructor in the Graduate School of Business and Public Policy at the Naval Postgraduate School. He is also a co-founder, a Director and President of the Advanced Design Institute. He works as an education consultant for universities, governmental agencies, and business organizations. Previously he served for twelve years as the Director (Department Head) of the Graduate Programs in Whole Systems Design (WSD) at Antioch University.

For the past twenty years, while working as a researcher, consultant, and educator in design and systems science, Dr. Nelson has been involved with diverse organizations including: non-profits and corporations, state and federal agencies, international governments, and the United Nations. He has consulted, or lectured in: Chile, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, Indonesia, and Australia. Dr. Nelson is a past-president of the International Society for Systems Science, a position previously held by such notable scholars as: Margaret Meade, Illya Prigogine, Russ Ackoff, Sir Jeffrey Vickers and West Churchman.

After completing his Bachelor of Architecture at Montana State University, Dr. Nelson studied architecture and ceramic design at the Technical University and Ateneum Fine Arts Academy in Finland. Upon his return home, he received his Master of Architecture degree from the University of California at Berkeley, where he continued his studies in systems thinking and received his Ph.D.,graduating ‘with distinction’.

Prior to his work in the fields of educational systems design, organizational systems design, and leadership development, Dr. Nelson,who is a licensed architect in the State of California, worked as a practicing architect in the private sector and as an assistant regional architect for Region Five of the U.S. Forest Service. While at the Forest Service, he designed and supervised the construction of two major visitor centers in addition to other projects.
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