American designer Rolf A. Faste made significant advances in design education and human-centred design. His most well-known contributions to design thinking are related to the 'whole person' approach to issue solving that focuses on needs perception. From 1971 to 1983, he held the position of professor of industrial design at Syracuse University. From 1984 to 2003, he served as the head of the Stanford Joint Programme in Design and a professor of mechanical engineering. He also served as a UNESCO consultant to the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.