Faculty

Tom Matano Industrial Design Faculty

Tom Matano

Executive Director / School of Industrial Design

Mr. Matano has almost 30 years of experience in the automotive industry, holding design positions at General Motors in Detroit, Michigan, GM Holden’s Ltd. in Melbourne, Australia, and BMW in Munich, Germany. In 1983, he joined Mazda’s North American studio as a Chief Designer. From there, he went on to become Executive Vice President of Western Operations for Mazda R&D North America, Inc., and Executive Designer & Director of Mazda North American Operations. From 1999 to 2002, Mr. Matano worked at Mazda’s headquarters in Japan as an Executive Designer in the Global Advance Studio, overseeing efforts for Japan, Europe, and North America; and eventually he was named General Manager of Mazda Design in charge of all Chief Designers. His accomplishments at Mazda include the 1989 Miata, 1993 RX-7, in addition to many other projects produced by the design teams he built and managed. Since 2002, Mr. Matano has been committed to becoming an educator, using his diverse knowledge and experience to enhance the Industrial Design program at Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA, constantly ranked Top 10 in the Red Dot World Ranking of Industrial Design schools.

Tom Matano Industrial Design Faculty

Tom Matano's Work

Our Faculty

Antonio Borja
Director School of Industrial Design
Hideki Masuda
Online Director School of Industrial Design
Lloyd Buck
Associate Director of Automotive Restoration School of Industrial Design
Andrew Putman
Rapid Prototyping Manager School of Industrial Design

Spring 2024 Part-Time Faculty

Faculty MemberEducational Background
Adam GustafsonAcademy of Art University, San Francisco, California (Master of Fine Arts, Industrial Design)
Agota JonasSan Jose State University, San Jose, California (Master of Arts, Industrial Design)
Akino TsuchiyaArt Center College Design, Pasadena, California (Bachelor of Science, Industrial Design)
Claudia DallendoerferBerlin University of the Arts, Berlin, Germany (Master of Fine Arts, Industrial Design )
David CurielThe Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, Ft Lauderdale, Florida (Bachelor of Science, Industrial Design)
Didula JayaratnaAcademy of Art University, San Francisco, California (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Industrial Design)
Frank Zucchi15+ yrs of experience in Industrial Design
Guy Melville-BrownCoventry University, Coventry, United Kingdom (Master of Arts, Design )
Hector SilvaUniversity Illinois Champaign Urbana, Urbana, Illinois (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Industrial Design)
Jim ShookSan Jose State University, San Jose, California (Bachelor of Science, Industrial Design)
John Bavaresco15+ yrs. experience in VFX and in the 3d industry.
Kwan KimArt Center College Design, Pasadena, California (Bachelor of Science, Transportation Design)
Leif PeterssonArt Center College Design, Pasadena, California (Bachelor of Science, Product Design)
Manuel PelaezAcademy of Art University, San Francisco, California (Master of Fine Arts, Industrial Design)
Manuel RojasArt Center College Design, Pasadena, California (Bachelor of Science, Transportation Design)
Max NiehausDrexel Univeristy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Bachelor of Science, Product Design)
Max SimsCalifornia College of the Arts, Oakland, California (Master of Fine Arts, Design)
Melvin DominguezAcademy of Art University, San Francisco, California (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Industrial Design)
Rebecca DukeMaine College of Art, Portland, Maine (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Painting)
Sean MillerWestern Washington University, Bellingham, Washington (Bachelor of Arts, General Studies Art)
Shin SoPratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York (Master of Arts, Industrial Design)
Thomas McNultyArt Center College Design, Pasadena, California (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Graphics/Packaging)

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