CARTA Innovation Lab: A Note of Thanks on its First Anniversary2017-01-10T17:44:22-05:00

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(L-R) Dean Brian Schriner, Jerry Libbin (Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce), Michael Goldberg (Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce), John Stuart, President Rosenberg, Matt Haggman (Knight Foundation), Germán Montoya Rokk3r Labs), Ambassador Cejas, Nabyl Charania (Rokk3r Labs), Provost Furton, and Miami Beach City Manager Morales

Dear Ribbon Cutting Partners:

Exactly a year ago today, you donned your customized 3D printed name tags and cut the ribbon to officially open the CARTA Innovation Lab. Over the course of its brief existence, the lab has become known as a global leader in innovation as it has made a name for itself in arts, design, and technology.  It has been considered by MakerBot to be among the most prolific MakerBot Innovation Lab in any university (on par with U. Maryland and Penn State!) and the standard bearer for innovation and creativity surrounding this new technology.  (See this recent article in EdTech about the very first MakerBot Summit, where FIU won the only award given at the Summit.)  During this first year we have developed partnerships with many organizations, including Breakthrough Miami and the City of Miami Beach, and individual researchers from the MIT Media Lab, Northwestern’s Kellogg Innovation Network, Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, and the MDC Idea Center, among others who expand the reach of 3D printing into our communities and around the world.

As a precocious one-year-old, the lab is not only walking and talking…but running and printing!  The lab is dedicated to providing South Florida with robust generations of 3D printing “natives” who will have the knowledge and experience to explore new approaches to solve critical issues in areas of arts, design, urbanism, sustainable development, sea level rise, accessibility, health, athletics, and transportation.

Every student still has a 3D printer at his/her desk (in this we were apparently the first in the United States!).  And yes, we still, for as long as fiscally possible, provide open access and the necessary materials to FIU students without charge to encourage exploration and innovation that reaches new heights!  Several hundred students and faculty researchers have made the lab their innovation space of choice.  And I just learned last week that we now have FIU students who have purchased their own 3D printers to start their own businesses!

Thank you all for joining us for our first day a year ago, and for supporting the lab for many, many days into the future!

Sincerely,

John


John A. Stuart, AIA
Associate Dean for Cultural and Community Engagement, FIU College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts
Executive Director, Miami Beach Urban Studios
Director, CARTA Innovation Lab
Professor of Architecture
420 Lincoln Road, Suite 440, Miami Beach, Florida 33139
stuartj@fiu.edu. 305.535.1460

College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts
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E-Mail: janthomp@fiu.edu