Ian Roy

--- Role at Brandeis ---

lan Roy is the Executive Director of Design and Innovation at Brandeis University and has an endowed faculty appointment as the inaugural Robert I. Mallet Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Business. In his staff role he collaborates closely with the Senior Leadership team in the Brandeis Library, and as Faculty he has built and taught classes in Business, Engineering, and Anthropology.

Ian's team, Brandeis Design and Innovation department (BDI), builds and manages maker spaces, emerging technology, and digital scholarship tools across campus. To address the University's growing need to embed technology and digital literacies in teaching, learning and research, BDI provides services that faculty can adopt for class and research usage and students can engage in experiential learning inside and outside of the classroom. The BDI team manages several maker spaces at Brandeis University: The Brandeis MakerLab, The Automation Lab, the Digital Scholarship Lab, the 3D Printer Farm, and the Engineering Classroom.

Their services include support of CAD and CAM workflows around Digital Fabrication (3D Printing, Laser cutting, CNC Milling), 3D scanning (structured light, photogrammetry, LIDAR), data visualization, GIS survey and mapping, XR (Unity and Unreal development), machine learning, robotics prototyping, drone use (designing, building, FAA 107 and international licensing), and embedded systems prototyping (Raspberry Pi, Arduino, soldering) and design ideation tools essential to entrepreneurship.

Ian and his team specialize in the technical aspects, but also importantly in the policy implications of implementing emerging technologies across campus. Ian was the project lead in developing both the Research Technology department and the Design and Innovation department. In 2014, he was the Founding Head of the Brandeis MakerLab, and in 2018 he was the Head of the Digital Scholarship Lab. In 2018, He co-founded Brandeis' annual social impact hackathon, DeisHacks with Professor Gene Miller. In the fall of 2022 he was the technical lead on building the new Engineering Classroom where he architected the first Engineering class at Brandeis University in collaboration with Professor Ben Rogers. He started at Brandeis in a staff role in 2012 and in a faculty role in 2017.

--- Background ---

Ian is descended from samurai and has studied Japanese sword for over 10 years. He is also a Brandeis alumnus, graduating in 2005 with dual majors in Philosophy and Economics and a concentration in Film Studies. From 2005 to 2010, he worked for a high end jeweler in downtown Los Angeles as the in-house photographer. He has a strong background in digital photography, digital fabrication, and new media marketing. He has also read and pitched around 1000 screenplays as a professional reader at a small boutique Los Angeles-based production company. He coached the Brandeis Ski Team for 2 seasons, a team on which he was a 2-year captain during his undergraduate career. He retired from Ski Coaching to coach 3D printing.

in Spring 2018 Brandeis Magazine published a profile on Ian: http://www.brandeis.edu/magazine/2018/spring/featured-stories/nerd.html

--- Hackathons ---

Ian has hosted or judged the first dozen 24-hour hackathons at Brandeis, helping create the Printathon and Codestellation brands. He is currently the staff advisor to Deis3D.org, the Brandeis 3D printing club, the Brandeis Aviation Club, and the Brandeis Prosthesis Club.

In 2018, Ian Co-founded the DEISHACKS hackathon with Gene Miller from IBS, An Applied Social Justice Hack hosted by the Brandeis MakerLab partnered with the Brandeis International Business School. This 24-hour social design challenge focused on disequity sources our hack-challenges from the 30 or so not for profits and social enterprise organizations local to Waltham. Instead of having a single hackathon challenge, this event's theme will fuse design thinking, digital fabrication & social impact to work on real world solutions for non-profit companies. Each hackathon team will chose a design challenge from Waltham's diverse non-profit community they find compelling to focus on.

--- Teaching ---

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Starting fall 2017, Ian Teaches a 2 credit course with IBS: BUS295G: DIGITAL FABRICATION WITH ROBOTICS

There are 20 spots every semester both Spring and Fall.

"The goal of this course is for students to walk away with the ability to imagine a design and produce it in physical reality. Students will learn the fundamental underlying technologies in digital fabrication, 3D scanning, 3D design, and robotics. Through a combination of real world examples and hands on experiences, students will learn to take a design from concept to reality. There will be a focus on literacy of underlying technologies: how things work, what their limitations are, why they fail, and how to troubleshoot or design around those limitations. Usually offered every semester."

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Starting Fall 2018. Ian co-teaches a 4 credit course with Charles Golden in the Anthropology Department ANTH129A - CULTURE IN 3D: THEORY, METHOD, AND ETHICS FOR SCANNING AND PRINTING THE WORLD

There are 20 spots available every other fall semester.

"Designed to train students in the methods needed for the successful application of 3D modeling and printing for the documentation, conservation, and dissemination of cultural patrimony. Students will acquire the technical skills and engage in the ethical debates surrounding ownership and reproduction of such patrimony. Usually o0ffered every second year."

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Starting spring 2019, Ian co-teaches a 4 credit course with Aldo Musacchio in the Business Department BUS233A: ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND RAPID PROTOTYPING

There are 25 spots every semester both Spring and Fall.

"This course focuses on prototyping/lean startup, minimum-viable products, design thinking, project management, and product/service development. Today, the most important skills entrepreneurs need to have are not necessarily learned in the traditional classroom environment. The work of an entrepreneur and project manager of any kind requires mastering the art of rapid experimentation/prototyping with multiple iterations to improve systems, products or services. This course is designed to allow students learn those tools in a hands-on, immersive approach, allowing students to launch one actual product or service in the course of a semester. Usually offered every semester."

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Ian architected the first course in the Engineering Department at Brandeis with Physics Professor Ben Rogers in fall 2023 - a 4 credit course called ENGR11a: "INTRODUCTION TO DESIGN METHODOLOGIES"

There are 20 spots every fall and spring.

"An introduction to the engineering design process, with a focus on human-centered design. Students work in teams to solve authentic design problems under the theme of “Design to repair the world”. Students are guided through a highly scaffolded process in which they form an idea, sketch it, and develop it through multiple iterations leveraging quick feedback loops and the Design Thinking methodology. We will start with a focus on CAM (computer aided manufacturing), and move to a focus on CAD (computer aided design). Usually offered every fall"

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Starting in 2023, Ian teaches the Board Fellows course at the Brandeis International Business School that Professor Gene Miller started in 2017

BUS297: "LEADERSHIP INTERNSHIPS IN SOCIAL IMPACT ORGANIZATIONS" - a 4 credit course that runs from fall through spring every year.

https://www.brandeis.edu/business/bus297c.html

In this graduate level business course, students embed on the boards of local nonprofit organizations from August through May. The course is a mix of theory taught through case study and guest lectures, and hands on design challenges focused on solving real world problems for the board. The board fellows curate the challenges from the nonprofits to bring to Brandeis' annual hackathon DeisHacks so that teams of students can "Hack" novel solutions that then get implemented by the board fellow to make real organizational impact that effects our local communities.