People - DFab

Co-Directors

Adriana Schulz

Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering
Personal Webpage

Adriana Schulz is an assistant professor at the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, where she develops novel computational design tools to drive and democratize the next manufacturing revolution. She uses data-driven methods to create intelligent tools that make design more efficient and accessible, and real-time performance-driven methods for design based on functionality. She incorporates these ideas into interactive tools that allow design of complex functional mechanisms that require design and optimization of not only geometry, but also motion and control.

Tomás Méndez Echenagucia

Department of Architecture
Personal Webpage

Tomás Méndez Echenagucia is an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington’s department of Architecture. His research is focused on the use of simulation, computational geometry and optimization algorithms to make building components more sustainable. He holds a double degree in Architecture from the Universidad Central de Venezuela and the Politecnico di Torino, as well as a PhD in Architecture and Building Design also from the Politecnico di Torino. He has practiced as an architect and consultant in Europe and South America. His work includes several research pavilions and prototypes, including the “Armadillo Vault” for the Venice Biennale in 2016 and the ETH Pavilion in New York City in 2015. He completed a five year postdoctoral researcher position at the Block Research Group in the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zürich, where he was a project lead in the HiLo research unit. Tomás is a co-developer of the COMPAS framework, an ecosystem of modeling, design and simulation tools, ranging from Finite Element Analysis to geometric acoustics.

Nadya Peek

Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering
Personal Webpage

Nadya Peek develops unconventional digital fabrication tools, small scale automation, networked controls, and advanced manufacturing systems. Spanning electronics, firmware, software, and mechanics, her research focuses on harnessing the precision of machines for the creativity of individuals. Nadya directs the Machine Agency at the University of Washington where she is an assistant professor in Human-Centered Design and Engineering. Machines and systems Nadya has built are shared widely including at CHI, TEI, SIGGRAPH, Guggenheim Berlin, and the White House Maker Faire, and she has given keynotes at CCC, SolidCon, and Symposium on Computational Fabrication. Nadya advises a diverse crowd on manufacturing and making including the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; NASA Ames; the Shenzhen Mayor’s office; Moog Aerosystems; A. Zahner Company; Nervous System; and Jeff Koons. Nadya is an active member of the global fab lab community, making digital fabrication more accessible with better CAD/CAM tools and developing open source hardware machines and control systems. She is on the board of the Open Source Hardware Association, half of the design studio James and the Giant Peek, plays drum machines and synths in the band Construction and got her PhD at MIT in the Center for Bits and Atoms.