Born and raised in Los Angeles, Akash Chudasama has always been obsessed with how things look, work and feel. From an early age, he pursued an attraction to things that move fast—cars, planes, rockets, stars, planets and comets. Combining practical sciences with the creative arts always came naturally to him. “I believe in approaching problems from a systems perspective, blending human needs, function, style, business, culture and technology.”

Chudasama entered the Graduate Transportation Systems and Design program with a prior degree in Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering. ArtCenter helped him develop his visualization skills to better communicate his ideas to others, and also provided unique professional development opportunities including internships at the innovative start-up ICON Aircraft, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and at the manufacturing company Kemac Technologies.

In the process, Chudasama discovered an empathy for user experience and interaction design. After graduating, he accepted a position as a designer specializing in user experience at the very hush-hush Applied Minds group in Burbank, California. “I’m a designer,” he says, “seeking to help mold the future of how we move and live, on this planet and beyond.”