Education
Harvard-trained and MIT-honed, Dr. Diana Hawkins Manuelian blends deep scholarship with hands-on experimentation. After earning her Ed.D. in Interactive Technology at Harvard (with distinction), she completed a post-doctoral fellowship at MIT’s Media Lab, co-founding the Audience Research Facility. Earlier dual degrees in Psychology (summa cum laude) and Studio Art (magna cum laude) at SUNY Buffalo set the interdisciplinary tone that still guides her human-centered innovation
Institutions:
Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA (1986) (alias Diana Gagnon)
Ed.D. in Human Development, Educational Media & Interactive Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab (1986) (alias Diana Gagnon)
Postdoctoral Fellowship
State University of New York, Buffalo, NY (1981) (alias Diana Gagnon)
B.A. in Psychology — Summa Cum Laude, Highest Distinction in Psychology Award
B.F.A. in Studio Art & Sculpture — Magna Cum Laude (alias Diana Gagnon)
B.F.A. in Studio Art & Sculpture — Magna Cum Laude (alias Diana Gagnon)
Research Highlights:
- Videogames & Spatial Skills – Harvard/ETCJ-published study that still informs ed-tech and game-based learning design.
- Interactive Media – Published numerous reports on interactive technology and state of the industry reports.
- Corporation for Public Broadcasting Grant – Early exploration of interactive children’s television, laying groundwork for today’s edutainment platforms and digital magazines.
- Personalized interface – Wrote a chapter in Communication Yearbook that proposed a personalized and open architecture approach to User interface.
- Virtual Reality, Simulators & AR – Published papers and state of the industry reports on the entertainment uses of virtual reality and ride simulators
- Stanford University – Conducted research on video games and violence and explored the use of video game ratings systems
Teaching & Mentorship:
- MIT Media Lab – Lecturer
Developed and taught a course at MIT, introducing students to the principles of adaptive interfaces and media design. - Stanford University – Visiting Scholar (Comm. Dept.)
Taught a class on the social and psychological effects of technology
“Education isn’t just the transfer of knowledge—it’s the design of experiences that change how people see the world”