about
Hi! My name is Maharshi Bhattacharya.
I’m a futurist and an aspiring polymath.
I'm a Designer and a Speculative Futurist, leading the tech team at cultureNOW, a non profit based in New York. I graduated from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, majoring in Design Technology.
As part of the Harvard side of the multi-university, NASA-funded STRI, RETHi (Resilient Extra-Terrestrial Habitat research), apart from research into existing frameworks and schemata for adaptation into novel deep space habitation solutions, I spearheaded the design development, human factors considerations, and formulation of fabrication strategies for autonomous, resilient, habitable structures for the human habitation of Mars. Although I joined as a fabrication consultant, I became a more permanent team member, and eventually, the group funded my Master's thesis project. Through my role, I also focus on working by the precepts of the human-centered design process, from qualitative research and synthesis to ideation, prototyping, and implementation.
More than a designer or an architect, I see myself as a cross-disciplinary solutionist- solution-focused and medium-agnostic, willing to step out of my core skill set and discipline to find the optimum answer to a challenge. In recent years I have worked to further my understanding of a variety of diverse topics such as the future of the built environment and our cities, space exploration, the growth of urban sprawl, disaster population movement, the future of farming, and fabrication.
I am a trained architect and, I enjoy writing science-fiction, discussing philosophy, curating music, microscopy, and walking.
