Alan Cation, the New York-based computational designer, artist, and educator, will teach a Grasshopper 3D workflow for about 90 minutes at the Computational Design: NEXT 5.0 conference. His work focuses on parametric architecture, complex geometry, sustainability, and simulating how natural behavioral systems interact with each other and their environments. Alan utilizes his generative and computational design expertise to take an experimental approach to the design process, where he imagines speculative futures and incorporates advanced digital fabrication technologies to realize complexity.Alan received a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies from Southern Illinois University and a Master of Architecture from California College of the Arts, where he focused on digital craft, robotics, 3d printing, and computation. Afterward, he completed an Artist in Residence at Autodesk Pier 9, developing large-scale concrete 3d printing technology. His work has been widely published for methods in computational design and robotic 3d printing.Alan teaches Computational Design courses at The City College of New York and has taught computation and 3D printing workshops internationally for institutions like TU Delft and ETH Zurich. He is currently an Associate and computational Design Specialist at Ennead Architects in NYC. There, he leads various computational design initiatives while developing design tools and custom software for delivering high-performance architecture.