Mihai Nadin

Timeline

1. By 1980

   Philosophy professor in Brașov

   Born in Brașov in 1938, he earns a PhD in aesthetics at the University of Bucharest and a master's degree in electronics and computer science at the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest. He is a professor of philosophy at the University of Brașov from 1969 to 1975, then holds an Alexander von Humboldt research grant at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich from 1978 to 1980.

2. 1980–1985

   Bringing computers to RISD

   From 1980 to 1985, he is a professor at the Rhode Island School of Design, teaching semiotics, design, communication, computer graphics, artificial intelligence and aesthetics. He introduces computers at the school in 1983.

3. 1985–1991

   Ohio State scholar and FIT dean

   He is Eminent Scholar in Art & Design Technology at Ohio State University from 1985 to 1988, working on advanced applications in multimedia digital technology and visualization. From 1988 to 1991, he serves as Dean of the School of Art and Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.

4. 1994–1997

   First Computational Design program

   In 1994, he becomes Chair of Computational Design at the University of Wuppertal in Germany and establishes the world's first Computational Design Program, which designs products and processes through digital means. In 1997, he co-founds @computational design, a company built on technology transfer from that program.

5. 1999–2004

   Founding the antÉ institute

   He is Distinguished Visiting Professor of computer science and Visiting Scholar at Stanford's Center for the Study of Language and Information in 1999. In 2002 he founds the antÉ Institute for Research in Anticipatory Systems, and in 2004 he brings it to the University of Texas at Dallas as Ashbel Smith Professor, directing its work on anticipatory computing, which embeds anticipation in software.

6. 2012–2015

   Anticipation study group in Delmenhorst

   In 2012, he founds the Study Group on Anticipation at the Hanse Wissenschaftskolleg (Hanse Institute for Advanced Study) in Delmenhorst, Germany. Three conferences there in 2014 and 2015 take place under his organization, and he edits three volumes on anticipation in Springer's Cognitive Sciences Monographs series.

7. 2023

   The book Disrupt Science

   Springer publishes his book Disrupt Science: The Future Matters in 2023; it takes up the COVID-19 pandemic and artificial intelligence and argues for an anticipatory mindset. Fox News carries his October 2023 piece on knowledge and intelligence amid the hype and hysteria over AI.

8. As of October 2026

   Professor Emeritus at UT Dallas

   He is Professor Emeritus of Computer Science and Interactive Media at the University of Texas at Dallas and a former Ashbel Smith Professor.