Menu Close
Professor Emerita of Design, University of Minnesota

Karen L. LaBat, Ph.D. is Horace T. Morse Distinguished Professor Emeritus, College of Design, University of Minnesota. She was Co-PI on a National Science Foundation grant to establish the UMN Human Dimensioning Laboratory™, and served as co-director for 20 years. Her research agenda includes two areas of emphasis: 1) developing products that enhance human health and well-being and 2) studying the human body to improve performance and fit of wearable products. She was the 2017 International Textiles and Apparel Association Distinguished Scholar. She has authored numerous academic journal articles on product design and development. She co-authored, with Karen Ryan, M.D., the book Human Body: A Wearable Product Designer’s Guide, which won the 2020 Association of American Publishers PROSE Award in the Engineering and Technology category.

Experience

  • –present
    Professor Emeritus, Apparel Design Program , University of Minnesota