Avantika Velho is the co-founder of BIOPOD Co. and is currently a biodesigner and researcher at Northeastern University’s BioInteractive Design Lab.
Previously, she was the Lead Biodesigner and Strategist at Terreform ONE, a Brooklyn-based socio-ecological design research group. Her nature-centric, scale-agnostic approach to design encompasses regenerative systems for future cities, living architecture, lunar dust mitigation technologies, self-cleaning biomaterials, and numerous physical and digital products for clients such as CVS, Google, NASA, and Hyundai Motors.
Avantika graduated with honors from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) with a BFA in Industrial Design, concentrating in Nature-Culture-Sustainability Studies. She has received numerous recognitions, including the Rachel Carson Environmental Award for sustainability, the Maharam STEAM Fellowship, and the Hyundai Research and Innovation Fellowship. Her work has been supported by the Sustainable Market Initiative’s Terra Carta Design Lab, the Somerson Sustainability Innovation Fund, and organizations like the National Endowment of the Arts and NSF.
Avantika shares her work with both design and scientific audiences by publishing papers and presenting at conferences such as eCAADe, ACSA|AIA Intersections Research Conference, and the IEEE International OCEANS Conference.
Her research and designs have been widely published in Dezeen, Designboom, Design Milk, WGSN, HUBE, and Fast Company. Her recent collaborative project with Terreform ONE, “Fab Tree Hab,” has earned multiple awards, including Fast Company’s 2024 Innovation by Design Award, the Green GOOD DESIGN Award, the Rethinking the Future Award, the DNA Paris Design Award, and the Core77 Design Honor Award.
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Co-Founder BIOPOD Co. | 2023-Present
Biodesigner & Research Assistant Northeastern University BioInteractive Design Lab | 2024-Present
Lead Biodesigner & Strategist Terreform ONE | 2022-24
Lead Computational Designer Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) | 2022-23
Interaction and Experience Design Intern Big Dreams (formerly Tell Art) | 2022
Hyundai Research and Innovation Fellow Hyundai Motor Group & RISD | 2021-22
Maharam STEAM Fellow Living Systems Laboratory | 2021
Peer Tutor RISD Co- Works Research Lab, Providence, RI | 2021
Designer & Research Assistant, RISD Edna Lawrence Nature Lab, Providence, RI | 2021
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Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Providence
BFA in Industrial Design & Nature-Culture-Sustainability StudiesMIT Sloan School of Management & Mechanical Engineering
Selected Courses in Product Design and Development (2.739)Brown University
Selected Courses in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, & Neuroscience -
Terra Carta Design Lab, BIOPOD Winner 2024
The Edison Awards Nomination 2025, Fab Tree Hab- Terreform ONE 2024
Fast Company Innovation by Design Award, Fab Tree Hab - Terreform ONE 2024
Green GOOD Design Award, Fab Tree Hab – Terreform ONE 2024
Core77 Design Honor Award, Fab Tree Hab – Terreform ONE 2024
Rethinking the Future Award, Fab Tree Hab- Terreform ONE 2024
DNA Paris Design Award Winner: Green Architecture, Fab Tree Hab- Terreform ONE 2024
RISD Rachel Carson Environmental Award, Recipient 2022
RISD Industrial Design Faculty Award, Recipient 2022
IDSA Makeathon: Zooming Out, First Place 2022
Industrial Design Department Representative, Elected Winner 2021
Google x Biodesign Challenge Sprint, First Place 2021
NASA Big Idea Challenge, TEST-RAD -Forum Award Winner 2021
RISD Collaborative Visualization Grant, Winner 2021
VIS-A-THON, Winner 2021
Hyundai Research and Innovation Fellowship, Recipient 2021Maharam STEAM Fellowship, Recipient 2021
International Biodesign Challenge, Finalist 2021
IDSA Makeathon: Connecting the Dots, First Place 2020
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Terra Carta Design Lab, BIOPOD Co. 2024
National Endowment of the Arts: Grants for Art Projects, Fab Tree Hab- Terreform ONE 2024
Somerson Sustainability Innovation Fund (SSIF), Recipient 2023
RISD Industrial Design Health & Wellness Design Fund, Recipient 2022
Student Provisional Ubiquity Research (SPUR) Grant Recipient 2022
NASA Big Idea Challenge Funding TEST-RAD 2021
RISD Collaborative Visualization Grant, Recipient 2021
Hyundai Research and Innovation Fellowship, Recipient 2021
Maharam STEAM Fellowship, Recipient 2021
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2024 Terra Carta Design Lab Showcase, Providence, RI - BIOPOD Co.
2024 New Climate Futures, New Lab, NY - BIOPOD Co.
2024 Haptic Futures, Fifth Avenue Hotel, NY - BIOPOD Co.
2023 Biodesign Challenge at MoMA, New York, NY – BIOPOD Co.
2022 Tallinn Architectural Biennale, Estonia – Puffed Rice Bales, Terreform ONE
2021 RISD Industrial Design Senior Show, Providence, RI – Functional Morphologies
2021 RISD Graphic Design Triennial, Providence, RI – Avani
2021 Hyundai and Kia Futures Exhibit- Adaptive Ecologies,Seoul, South Korea – Functional Morphologies and Avani
2021 Adaptive Ecologies Building on Nature’s Blueprint, Providence, RI – Functional Morphologies and Avani
2021 Biodesign Challenge, New York, NY & Online – BioCycles Project
2021 BioModels, Providence, RI – BioCycles Project & Curation
2019 Experimental Foundation Studies Showcase, Providence, RI – Phagocytose Charcoal Animation, Wire Mantis