On Thursday, January 25, CLTC welcomed about 60 attendees–including our research grantees, affiliated faculty, and other supporters—for a reception to celebrate our new permanent home, which is located inside Hearst Field Annex, Building B, on the southern edge of the UC Berkeley campus.
CLTC has grown rapidly since our founding in 2014, and in Fall 2017, after an extensive search, we moved into our home, an accessible, single-story building near Bancroft Avenue. Since then, we have been designing and renovating the space and acquiring furniture, some of which was generously donated by Herman Miller—the world renowned furniture design company—as part of their Future of Work research programming.
“I was taught by some folks at Herman Miller years ago is that the best way to inform furniture designers is not to think about furniture, but to think about the future of work,” explained Professor Steve Weber, Faculty Director for CLTC, in remarks at the reception. “It’s in some ways how we have tried to configure our thinking about the world of cybersecurity. We want to focus on the problems that are just a little bit over the horizon.”
By having this permanent home, CLTC will able to support our growing team, as we can accommodate up to 15 permanent staff members working on site, as well as 20+ students and faculty from our grantee research teams and master’s degree program. The space also has an open floor plan, kitchen, and access to an outdoor courtyard. We are housed directly adjacent to UC Berkeley’s new Data Science program, which has potential to yield productive collaborations.
“We want this to be a vibrant center where people come hang out with each other, interact, and share ideas,” Weber said. “The challenge is to make it an active center where people really want to come. The only way that happens is if we make it interesting, we make it comfortable, and you folks show up and join us.”
Betsy Cooper, CLTC’s Executive Director, noted that the space includes huddle areas, conference rooms, and other spaces for collaboration. “This space is available to all of our grantees, and there is a standing bar and other cool areas to hang out and build community,” she said.
CLTC would like to thank the many individuals who helped manage the process of moving into and renovating our new space—and who helped organize and manage a wonderful reception—including our colleagues at Herman Miller and Interior Motions; our designers, Diane Horner and Joyce Cheng; special assistants Kristin Lin and Matt Nagamine; our event planners, Denise Simard and Rachel Wesen; and our student assistants, Rubina Aujla and Jobel Vecino.
We hope to see you in our new space soon!
