Inspiring Innovation at Duke
Michael Faber helps foster academic creativity of students
Name: Michael FaberPosition: Innovation program manager, Innovation Co-Lab, Office of Information TechnologyYears at Duke: 10. Also graduated from Duke in 2005.
What I do at Duke: My job is to help foster innovative uses of new and emerging technology at Duke. To do this, I provide resources and mentorship to student innovators through Duke’s Innovation Co-Lab. The premise of the Co-Lab is that instead of building technology we think students need, we give them the tools to build what they need themselves. Through the students, I identify technology needs and work with others at OIT to build the infrastructures needed to make innovation happen. We offer seed grants for student projects. A great example is FreeSpace, an app in development by three undergraduates that will tell you when study spaces are in use on campus in real time. It is great to be a part of the development and testing of that.
Read MoreIf I had $5 million, I would: I would invest $4.5 million and use the rest to improve my house and garage. I would attach a studio for creative purposes. I guess I’d buy a Tesla too.
My first ever job: I worked at an outpatient surgery center. It was boring data entry, and a lot of shredding.
If someone wanted to start a conversation with me they should ask me about: I’m interested in creativity and where that comes from and how we can spark that and what it means to different people. The stuff I get the most personal satisfaction from is when I am creative, not just art, but projects and planning.
The best advice I ever received: “Say no to things.” If you only have limited time you need to prioritize what you want to do.
What I love about Duke: The ability of students to ‘pull it off’ at the last minute. Duke students are incredibly busy and doing a lot of cool things at once. That is a special thing here. We have a “work hard, play hard” mantra. Since my job is to encourage students to do cool things, it is nice to see their efforts come through at the end.
When I’m not at work: I like to cook, and I have a lot of creative outlets like design projects and woodworking. Woodworking is all I want to do now. I built a castle for my cat to escape from the dogs.
If I could have one superpower, it would be: The ability to stare really hard and make traffic lights turn green.
An interesting/memorable day at work: Getting the new Innovation Studio all set up was a really exciting moment for me and for the Innovation Co-Lab. The laser cutter is one of my favorite tools in there, unboxing and setting up that equipment and then running that first cut was pretty fun.
Something most people don’t know about me: I am very particular about bagels.
The skills I bring to my work are: Creative problem solving. Students often come to me with questions I don’t know how to answer, but being able to break them down and help answer them is fun. The Co-Lab itself is a kind of experiment, and our programs are meant to change and respond to what does and doesn’t work.
Something unique in my office: I have a miniature 3D printed version of myself at my desk.