Bolor Amgalan
I am a Mongolia-born design researcher based in the United States. Originally trained as a zero-waste fashion designer, I expanded my practice at Central Saint Martins, and later at Parsons School of Design, exploring critical making and human-computer interaction. My research sits at the intersections of material science, cognitive psychology, and critical computing. Broadly, I investigate how disruptive emerging technologies can serve as catalysts for social change. More specifically, I study computational tools for creativity and program hybrid materials that bridge the digital and analog realms, functioning as transition interventions with implications for the future of work.
My latest research studies the Morin Khuur, a UNESCO-registered Mongolian horsehead fiddle, as a processual material – a dynamic entity shaped by its materials, environment, craftsmanship, and evolving socio-cultural narratives. The project examines the instrument’s unique sonic properties, traditionally crafted from bone, hide, and horsehair, and speculates on its transformation across new environments and scales. How might the Morin Khuur sound at the scale of a building? Or resonating on Mars? Through simulations and material experiments, this research seeks to understand, preserve, and expand the Morin Khuur’s distinctive sounds, crystallizing its cultural legacy while hinting at future trajectories.
Bolor Amgalan is an interaction design researcher, educator, and design strategist investigating the role of processual materials and disruptive emerging technologies as catalysts for social change. Bolor programs hybrid materials and creativity support tools that sit at the intersections of interface design, computation and craft. A graduate of Parsons and Central Saint Martins, Bolor is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Design and a PhD student at Northeastern University.
