Antonelli. (Courtesy PMC)

The Museum of Modern Art announced today that it is creating a new position, Director of Research and Development, and that it has picked its senior curator of architecture and design, Paola Antonelli, to fill it. In the new role, Ms. Antonelli "will provide the museum with information and critical tools to evaluate new initiatives and identify new directions and unexplored opportunities, particularly in the digital realm," MoMA stated in a news release.

Ms. Antonelli, who has been with the museum for almost two decades, will continue to serve as a senior curator, splitting her time between the architecture and design department and research and development so she will continue to organize shows at the museum. Her past curatorial credits include the 2011 show "Talk to Me," the 2009 Ron Arad retrospective and 2005's "SAFE: Design Takes on Risk."

"Museums and schools can be considered R&D departments of society, as they pursue a slower, more reliable, productive, and constructive progress that incorporates technological and industrial innovation, but filters them through a humanistic sieve," Ms. Antonelli said in a statement.