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Dr. Filippo A. Salustri

Filippo Salustri
Associate Professor
BASc, MASc, PhD, PEng

Areas of Academic Interest

Design theory and methodology

Systems thinking

Bio-inspired design

Formal systems in engineering design

Information visualization

Education

Year University Degree
1993 University of Toronto PhD
1987 University of Toronto MASc
1985 University of Toronto BASc

Selected Courses

Course Code Course
MEC 325 Introduction to Engineering Design
MEC 723 Mechanical Systems Design
MEC 222 Engineering Graphical Communication

Spotlight

Did you know that you are a designer? Filippo Salustri says so. “Design is recognizing that there is a shortcoming and developing a way to improve the situation,” he says. “Everyone designs every day.”

A mechanical engineer who has been teaching and researching at Ryerson since 1989, Salustri has dedicated his career to advancing the practice of design in engineering. He wants engineers to predict ways that users will be satisfied with, constrained by or hard on products. 

In the cornerstone design course, which he teaches in partnership with ergonomist Patrick Neumann, Salustri challenges students to do so by engaging them in diverse projects such as designing a stroller, a lifeboat or a patient list for a hospital emergency room – projects that amplify their natural design tendencies and inspire creativity. “A true designer,” he says, “is unconstrained by the limits of discipline and field.”

Filippo’s Twitter Profile (external link) 

Filippo Salustri

“By reasoning out the way people use engineered products, we can design deficiencies out of them.”

  • Leadership in Faculty Teaching Award, Province of Ontario, 2007
  • Salustri, F.A., and Neumann, W.P. “Creating a Human-Centric Engineering Design Course.” Proc. 2017 Conference of the Canadian Engineering Education Association. Paper 079. 4-7 June 2017. University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
  • Hoeller, N., Farnsworth, M., Jacobs, S., Chirazi, J., Mead, T., Goel, A., and Salustri, F.A. “A Systems View of Bioinspiration: Bridging the Gaps.” INCOSE Insight, vol. 19, no. 1, 2016, pp. 36-40.
  • Hoeller, N., and Salustri, F.A. “Advancing Biomimetic Materials Through ISO Standards.” Bioinspired, Biomimetic and Nanobiomaterials, vol. 5, no. 4, 2016, pp. 171-175.
  • Salustri, F.A., and Rogers, D. “Using Balance Variables to Describe System Interfaces and Assess In-progress Designs.” DS 80-5 Proc 20th​ International Conference on Engineering Design, vol 5, 2015, pp. 27-30.