Valentin Heun is a PhD candidate and research assistant at MIT Media Lab, where his research focuses on new computer interaction paradigms for the physical space. He is interested in transferring benefits from our shared digital experiences to our physical reality. Currently he is using his interdisciplinary design and engineering skills to build tools that empower designers. His works have been published in academic conferences such as Ubiquitous Computing (UBICOMP, 2012, 2013), SIGGRAPH Asia (SA, 2012), Tangible Embodied and Embedded Interaction (TEI, 2013), Computer Human Interaction conference (CHI, 2013) and User Interface Software and Technology (UIST, 2014). He has been interviewed by online media outlets such as Fast Company, Vice, Wired, the Daily Dot; awarded by Wired UK to the Smart List 2013, Fast Company’s Boldest Ideas in User Interface Design 2015 and Postscapes 2016 Editors Choice Award for IoT Software & Tools. He works closely with in 
dustry collaborators such as Steelcase, Audi, Lego, Qualcomm, Sony and NEC to create a new human interaction experience with everyday objects. Valentin holds a Master of Science from the MIT Media Lab, the German Diplom (eq. Master) in Design from the Bauhaus-University Weimar and cofounded an HCI company supported by an entrepreneur’s scholarship from the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.