Fab Academy 2014

My name is Justin Duffy. I've worked as a teacher, laundromat attendant, consultant, deli clerk, bicycle mechanic, film editor, and soccer referee among other things. I'm exciting to be participating in Fab Academy as I have spent the past year and a half working in Egypt on a project opening new STEM schools which include Fab Labs. As part of this I've been lucky to have the chance to collaborate with members of the Fab Lab network and some amazing Egyptian students who helped design their own labs from the ground up. I'm excited to take this opportunity to improve my engineering and design skills and continue to meet new creative people.

My wife and I also had our first child while living in Egypt last year, so I'm especially thrilled to have have this opportunity to try and make things for her rather than buying them. I strongly believe that being a producer rather than a consumer is an important shift for me individually and our society as a whole. Lower transportation costs, locally sourced materials, the added value and satisfaction of making something yourself are all parts of the equation here.