Luis Garcia Receives Carnegie Mellon’s 2026 Graduate Student Teaching Award
Luis Garcia, a PhD researcher and teaching fellow in Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Design, has been named a recipient of the 2026 Graduate Student Teaching Award, a university-wide honor recognizing excellence and innovation in teaching.
The award celebrates graduate students who demonstrate outstanding effectiveness in the classroom, inclusive teaching practices, and a strong commitment to student learning. Garcia’s work spans both design education and pedagogical mentorship through his role as a Senior Teaching Consultant Fellow at the Eberly Center, where he supports graduate student instructors and postdoctoral fellows in strengthening their teaching through evidence-based strategies.
An Ecuadorian designer, Garcia’s research explores the role of design in transdisciplinary collaboration to address complex, “wicked” problems. His work focuses on fostering critical consciousness in non-expert designers and expanding how design can operate across diverse contexts, an approach that shapes both his teaching and mentorship.
Garcia described his reaction to receiving the award as both appreciative and unexpected. “Surprised! Several people keep telling me how big a deal this is, but with my defense happening a couple of days after, I haven’t had time to fully reflect on what this means,” he said. “I appreciate the people who nominated me, as well as all the faculty, students, and clients who submitted letters and anecdotes about my teaching. The process had several components, and I was already happy to know that folks were willing to spend some time putting the application package together.”
In the classroom, Garcia encourages students to embrace uncertainty and expand their understanding of the field. “I hope they develop some comfort with ambiguity and complexity,” he said. “I also hope students realize that there is so much more to explore in design than they might think. It is easy to fall into the trap of having only one narrow view of the field and miss out on a world of possibilities available to a designer. If I triggered at least some curiosity about what design is beyond conventional views, I call that a win.”
Through his consulting work at the Eberly Center, Garcia focuses on helping future educators recognize teaching as a skill that can be developed. “Sometimes people think that a good public speaker makes a good instructor or that only some are born with a ‘gift’ for teaching. And of course, that is not the case,” he said. “If I helped the close to 90 people I worked with believe in their potential to become instructors, that’s a win.”
Before coming to Carnegie Mellon, Garcia worked on international and collaborative projects, including organizing national open innovation initiatives on sustainable urban mobility in Ecuador in partnership with organizations such as CEDIA and GIZ. His experience spans public space, healthcare, curriculum design, and community engagement, including work with the Indianapolis Cultural Trail and the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute’s Research Jam program.
Garcia holds an MFA in Design Research and Strategy from Indiana University as a Fulbright scholar and a BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Cuenca.
He will be recognized at the 2026 Celebration of Education Awards Ceremony on April 15, 2026, in Simmons Auditorium, Tepper Building.