
innovation labs
The Harvard Innovation Labs offers the Maker Studio as a resource for ventures of all kinds, especially those in need of prototyping and manufacturing tools.
Since its opening, the Maker Studio has given hardware-based ventures access to high-caliber tools and equipment. The space doubled in size in the fall of 2015, making it possible for more student and alumni teams working out of the Student i-lab, Launch Lab X GEO, or Life Lab to work on product design and development.
From developing bicycle helmets to robotic arms to wearable health sensors for elite athletes, the Maker Studio plays a pivotal role supporting entrepreneurs and startup teams. It eliminates the added expenses that can come with outsourcing design, prototyping, and manufacturing to outside labs and third parties, especially for the student-led teams who don’t have funding.
The studio features a wet zone, a dry zone, multiple 3-D printers and resources, collaborative team space, and areas devoted to assembly, manufacturing, rubber molding, and soldering.
Blake Hanan is this semester’s Maker Studio Teaching Assistant. Blake is a Bioengineering PhD student at Harvard University. Prior to starting at Harvard, Blake completed a B.E. and M.S. in Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University. He has spent much of his free time working and running maker spaces. Blake is involved with a global organization called Tikkun Olam Makers, where the goal is to design and build open source assistive technology for people with disabilities, where he has been a part of 5 projects, as well as running make-a-thon events in maker spaces. At Vanderbilt, Blake’s research involved fabricating microfluidic devices for biophysical and drug delivery applications. Blake’s research at Harvard will be in the Mooney Lab designing immunomodulatory materials to help fight cancer.
Please note: the Maker Studio is available for degree-seeking Harvard students interested in pursuing innovation and entrepreneurship at the Harvard Innovation Labs and to members of the Student i-lab, Launch Lab X GEO, and Life Lab.