Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian

Nelly Ben Hayoun
File:Nelly Ben Hayoun Speaking at NASA Ames Research Center.jpg
Born	Valence, Drôme, France
Occupation	Designer of Experiences, Director
Nationality	French
Website
http://nellyben.com/

Nelly Ben Hayoun has been called the Willy Wonka of design and science. Born in Valence, Drôme, France, Ben Hayoun now resides in London, United Kingdom. An award-winning director and experience designer, she works with leading scientists and engineers to devise subversive events and experiences. Ben Hayoun is also an exhibitor and keynote speaker who has worked with leading museums and design centres across the world. Her work is known for bringing "chaos, subversion and disorder into the design and scientific world". Nelly Ben Hayoun Studio

In 2013, Icon Magazine nominated Ben Hayoun as one of the 50 international designers “shaping the future”.

Background

Ben Hayoun is a visiting professor at the Architectural Association School of Architecture (Unknown Fields Division), a lecturer and researcher at Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art. Ben Hayoun is a contributing writer at Domus and Design Indaba and guest writer at We Make Money Not Art , Blueprint and Bruce Sterling’s blog "Beyond the Beyond" on Wired.

Ben Hayoun had an eclectic education, initially trained in painting then Textile Design at Olivier de Serres National College of Art and Design in Paris and then graduated from Design Interactions (MA) at the Royal College of Art with distinction for her dissertation. She is currently a  PhD Candidate in Human Geography at Royal Holloway, University of  London, UK.

Designer of Experiences at SETI Institute

Ben Hayoun was appointed Designer of Experiences at the SETI Institute under the supervision of Jill Tarter, Karen Randall, Franck Marchis, Adrian Brown and Janice Bishop in May 2013. Her work at SETI focuses on extending outreach activities and design in terms of scope, scale, and methods of engagement towards architecture, installations, environments, social system, performances, experiences and narratives, as events.

Extreme Fieldwork

Ben Hayoun was invited to take part in a road trip from Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, through Ukraine and the oil fields of Azerbaijan to rocket launch pad of Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome. A Project initiated by Liam Young, Kate Davies and the AA (Architectural Association School of Architecture). [8]

Director of the International Space Orchestra (ISO)

Alongside her role as Designer of Experiences at the SETI Institute, Ben Hayoun is directing the International Space Orchestra at NASA Ames Research Center. The International Space Orchestra is a project she created and assembled over the summer of 2012, with a team of space scientists from the NASA Ames Research Center, SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Life), Singularity University, and the International Space University.

Launch in Space

Ben Hayoun's work Ground Control: An Opera in Space, performance recordings by the International Space Orchestra was launched in space on 4th August 2013.

On 4th August 2013, two ArduSat (Arduino based Nanosatellite run by the company Nanosatisfi) carrying the ISO recordings of Ground Control: An Opera in Space were launched aboard the H-IIB Launch Vehicle, HTV-4 from Yoshinobu Launch Complex at the Tanegashima Space Centre. A video of the launch is available for public access online.

The recordings of Ground Control: An Opera in Space was recorded at Skywalker Ranch, George Lucas' studio, where Star Wars was developed.

Awards and Fellowships

• 2014-2015 Awarded Design Fellowship at Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany
• 2013-Ongoing Appointed Designer of Experiences at SETI Institute, USA, CA
• 2012-2013 Awarded a Design Fellowship at Montalvo Arts Center, California, USA
• 2012 Crosslands Research Scholarship, Royal Holloway, London
• 2011 Design Indaba Young Designers Award, Cape Town, South Africa
• 2010 Winner - Science in Society Award by STFC (Science and Society Facility Council)- with the project "Super K Sonic BOOOOum", UK (Watch video about the project here)
• 2010 Winner - Public Engagement Grant Scheme by IOP (Institute Of Physics)- with the project "Super K Sonic BOOOOum", UK and Ireland (Watch video about the project here)
• 2010 Design fellow at Queen Mary University, Physics Department, London, UK

Lectures, Talks and Speeches

Nelly Ben Hayoun is renowned for her energetic and motivational keynotes worldwide on design and teaching design, experience design and space public outreach.

• 2013 13th CII-NID Design Summit 2013; New Delhi, India. Endorsed by India Design Council
• 2013 64th International Astronautical Congress, Space Culture: Innovative Approaches for Public Engagement in Space, Beijing, China
• 2013 4th International Space Arts Workshop, NASA Ames Research Center Park, Singularity University
• 2013 International Space University, Strasbourg, France
• 2013 Design Indaba, Film Fest - Cape Town – South Africa
• 2012 Design Experiences, Main Auditorium, NASA Ames Research Center, CA, USA
• 2012 International Space Orchestra Talk Series, speakers: NASA Chief of Science Jacob Cohen, SETI Institute Head of Research Gerry Harp, NASA Kepler Mission Manager Roger Hunter, NASA Flight Director Rusty Hunt. ZERO1 Biennial, San José, California.(Watch video here)
• 2011 Unknown Fields Division at Talk in Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine
• 2011 Annual International Conference-London, Royal Geographical Society
• 2011 Sofia Design Week Festival, Bulgaria
• 2011 Festarch Festival, International Architecture Festival, Perugia, Italy
• 2011 Central Saint Martins, Architecture department, London, UK
• 2011 Masterclass on Teaching Design at Design Indaba, South Africa