Middle School Summer Maker Academy Faculty

David Fanning

At present I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering (2001) and a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering (2003) both from Stony Brook University. Additionally, I am EPA 608 Universal Certified to work on Type I, II, and III stationary refrigeration equipment.

Over the past fifteen years, my career has included architecture, manufacturing, professional educational training, management and teaching in higher education. For the past five years I have been the Lab Engineer in the Mechanical Engineering department at New York Institute of Technology. In this role I manage the mechanical engineering student machine shop, student lab areas, and faculty research areas. I have also taught courses at the college level as an adjunct professor in Career Discovery, Graphical Design (AutoCAD), Thermo-Fluids, Automotive Chassis Systems, Applied Mechanics and Engineering Materials, and Quality Management. I am currently also the advisor for the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) student organization at New York Tech.

During my time at New York Tech I have also developed the Future Makers and Fabricators machine shop summer program, a two week long intensive, hands-on program for high-school age students to learn to design, make and fabricate with various materials and equipment in the machine shop.

Prior to joining New York Tech, I worked in industry as a Senior Application Engineer at Schenck Trebel Corporation where I managed the Schenck Academy, a professional training program within the balancing industry offered across the US and Canada, for more than eight (8) years.

Engineering is my passion. I am very hands-on oriented and strive to continually learn new concepts and skills. Sharing that knowledge and skills with others is very rewarding and gives me a great sense of accomplishment. For as long as I can remember I have always been interested in and intrigued by how things work, why things work, how things are designed, and how things are ultimately made. From go karts and mini-bikes to tractors and radio control cars/planes, building custom cars, boats, and various construction projects, engineering and re-engineering fascinates me. How was this made? How does it work? Can I improve it to work better? What else can I make? I am an engineer twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Christopher Springston

I have a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (2013) from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering (2015) from New York Institute of Technology. I completed the NCEES Fundamentals of Engineering exam in 2014 and received FE Electrical and Computer Engineering Certification from the state of New York. I also obtained AutoCAD Certification from the American Institute of Architects in 2018.

I completed my Master's thesis under Dr. Aydin Farajidavar, department chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering. My research centered on creating a 32-channel wireless system that can be used to record gastric electrical activity. I was inspired to do my thesis on this subject as I have a family member who suffers from a gastric disorder. My work was presented and subsequently published in the 38th Annual Conference Proceedings of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC) in the year 2016.

I currently work as a Graduate Advisement Specialist for New York Tech at the Long Island Campus, for the past four years. I serve as an advisor to new and continuing graduate students in the Computer Science (CS), Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), Cybersecurity (CYBR), and Data Science (DS) programs. In addition, I am also an instructor for Undergraduate Programs and currently teach ETCS 105 Career Discovery, a course geared towards providing incoming freshman students the skills and tools necessary for a career in engineering.

Prior to working as a Graduate advisement Specialist at New York Tech, I held a variety of jobs which included tutoring and instructing students ranging from middle school to college level. I was a math and science instructor at C2 Education in Roslyn, NY and also served as an assistant to the director of the Academic Learning Center at New York Tech. In 2017 I chaperoned the IEEE Undergraduate Student Club to an IEEE Conference in Buffalo, NY where they competed in a micro-mouse competition. From these experiences, and my current work with students here at New York Tech, I realized I have a genuine interest in teaching. I enjoyed instructing middle school students last year in the VOYA summer program where they learned about LEGO Mindstorms and the basics of robotics and programming.

I have always had a passion for engineering and a desire to understand how things work. This is what drove me to become an Electrical Engineer and, eventually, to become an instructor in engineering. I hope to be able to share this interest, and possibly spark the same enthusiasm that I have for engineering, with others. I look forward to working with the VOYA program this summer and spending time with the new students.

Louie Aragon

Louie has been teaching at New York Tech since 2009. He has taught a variety of courses that ranged from 3D animation, Graphic Design, Package Design and Web Design. He also co-developed Brand Yourself, a summer program by the Digital Art and Design Department at New York Tech for high school students that explored the applications and field of graphic design and branding. He was an instructor for the program for 5 years and served as the director of Brand Yourself and Create Motion for 2 years. Additionally, Louie has been teaching art at Sewanhaka High School since 2009. His classes include Studio Art to Digital Design as well as 3D Design. He has worked with the robotics teacher to introduce digital fabrication using 3D printers, laser cutters and the CNC machine to the 3D Design course. He is currently the advisor for National Art Honor Society and serves as a member of Sewanhaka Innovates, a committee at Sewanhaka Central High School District that provides professional development and technical assistance to teachers who implement iPads, Learning Management Systems and educational apps in their curriculum. Louie is also actively freelancing in both web and graphic design. Prior to teaching at New York Tech and Sewanhaka High School, he worked as a 3D generalist at Softlab located in Manhattan. He worked on 3D animations as well as fabrication projects that involved 3D printing and CNC milling. Louie Aragon received his BFA with a concentration in Computer Graphics in 2005 at New York Tech. In addition, he has an MA in Art Education from Adelphi University and an Advanced Certificate in Educational Leadership from LIU.

Kevin Park

Kevin Park has a distinguished career as a leader in business and technology. He is currently a faculty member at New York Institute of Technology (2007) and NYU (2013), and a co-founder/director of UX design at ObjectivEye—a startup that provides a deep understanding and customized UX/UI design and analysis to the AR/VR industry.

Park is co-developer of the AR/VR certificate program, and assisted in developing the M.A. in UX/UI Design and Development in 2018 at New York Institute of Technology. He also teaches User Experience Design; User Interface and Interaction Design; AR/VR Design; Advertising and Branding; and Graphic Design.

He co-developed both the User Experience Design Professional diploma (2016) and UX Design curriculum for NYU's School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCPS). Since 2013 at NYU, he has taught in areas of UX Design, Brand Design, and Technology in Physical Space.

Park has more than 20 years of professional experience in the art, design, and emerging tech culture. He worked as a senior UX design manager at The Metropolitan Museum of Art for 17 years, and a design consultant for Pentagram, Antenna International, Smithsonian Museum, MoMA, Guggenheim, The Art Institute of Chicago, Harvard University, and McDonald's. He has been influential in the culture of design and remains unmatched through his passion of bridging the gap of AR/VR technology through our daily lives today.

Park holds a Master of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the School of Visual Arts, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from Maryland Institute College of Art. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and child.