PharmAssist is an in-home, low-profile, automated medication management device designed to fit in a residential refrigerator in place of a standard water and ice dispensing unit. This system is designed primarily for elderly patients, and emits visual and audio alerts, dispenses medications at preprogrammed times throughout the day, and automatically sends digital refill requests to the patient’s pharmacy.

Dosun Shin is a Professor of Industrial Design program in The Design School at Arizona State University in the U.S. He holds a BFA in Industrial Design and received a MFA degree in Industrial Design from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in August 2003. Prof. Shin started his design practice from 1999 working both in design consultancies and corporations. Since he arrived at ASU in 2004, he has continued to grow as a design practitioner, researcher, and educator in the discipline of Industrial Design to drive new product innovation through transdisciplinary collaborations. The research Professor Shin has undertaken at Arizona State University is informed by his professional experience and expertise in the area of product design and development. His research activities center on the “humanization of technology”, which seeks to examine current or emerging technologies for responsible product applications with a focus on users who often have been overlooked by the marketplace. He teaches senior and graduate Industrial Design studios, CAD (Computer-aided-design) courses, and digital design technologies. He has published 45 peer-reviewed articles and received 17 research grants from U.S government agencies, universities, and industries since he arrived at ASU in 2004. He is also the winner of 25 design awards and holds 4 U.S patents.

Arizona State University is a new model for American higher education, an unprecedented combination of academic excellence, entrepreneurial energy and broad access. This New American University is a single, unified institution comprising four differentiated campuses positively impacting the economic, social, cultural and environmental health of the communities it serves. Its research is inspired by real world application blurring the boundaries that traditionally separate academic disciplines.