Rachel Cooper is Professor of Design Management at the University of Lancaster, where she is Chair of the Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts, co-Director of ImaginationLancaster, and co-Director of HighWire (Digital Economies Innovation Doctoral Training Centre). She is also President of the European Academy of Design, Editor of The Design Journal, and a trustee of the Research and Development Management Association (RADMA). She has recently become a member of the EU Design and Innovation Leadership Board, and has undertaken several advisory roles to national and international universities, government and non-governmental organisations
Professor Cooper's research projects have all been in collaboration with industry, working both nationally and internationally. She is currently working on Urban Futures, a four-year research project (2008-2012) developing alternative scenarios for sustainable regeneration, specifically addressing design decision-making and urban density. She has written over 100 papers and several books in the field, most recently: The Handbook of Design Management (Berg, August 2011).
