NextFab Studio Founder, Dr. Evan Malone

Evan Malone

This post is the first in a series of profiles of each of the key players behind the scenes of NextFab Studio. First up: NextFab Studio founder Evan Malone.

Malone brings a wealth of technical and entrepreneurial experience to the project, as well as a degree in physics from U. Penn, and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Cornell. Here are four career highlights:

1. He is co-creator of the Fab@Home Project

Fab@Home is an affordable and open source system for at-home “3D printing”. Developed with Prof. Hod Lipson and Dan Periard at Cornell University, Fab@Home allows innovators to create custom 3D objects using technology that had previously been far more expensive. The system has fueled inventors around the world, and was given the Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award in 2007.

2. He co-owns an Internet cafe in Mahube township, South Africa

Malone struck up a friendship with a a young entrepreneur during a Fab@Home demonstration at an MIT-FabLab event in South Africa. After the event, they stayed in touch, and eventually became partners in Drive Passion PC Services, which brings IT to a community in need.

3. He was voted most valuable player on Cornell University’s 2002 RoboCup autonomous robotic soccer team

A perennial powerhouse in the RoboCup Foundation’s Small-Size League since their first win in 1999, Cornell’s 2002 BigRed robots were developed by a team of 20 students from computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, with Malone representing systems engineering. BigRed arrived at  RoboCup 2002, in Fukuoka, Japan.  After battling through 5 of the best robot teams from around the world, BigRed faced arch rival FU Berlin’s FuFighters in the finals.  After a thrillingly close match, BigRed’s little bots won the title of WORLD CHAMPIONS!

4. He helped design a particle accelerator at Fermilab

Between 1999 and 2001, Malone worked at the legendary Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory where he helped design the Proton Driver, a proton synchroton particle accelerator. (You might need to Wikipedia that one).