Michael Valente graduated from Georgia Tech with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. While at GT he spent his time between classes in the machine shop and student hackerspace making and breaking anything he could get his hands on. His undergraduate research included projects ranging from fluid powered walking robots and harvesting tools for indoor hydroponic farms to building new, more intuitive, backhoe controllers. As a Simon's Fellow in Design Engineering from 2012-2014, he used his background in design to work on a screening device for ASD. After the fellowship, Michael worked as an Electromechanical Engineer at Marcus, where he focused on creating assistive technologies for populations both with and without ASD. Michael is currently working as the System Engineering Lead at Tonal.
Maria Ly graduated from the University of California, Davis with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering along with a minor in Fiber & Polymer Science and Technology Management. Her research experiences highlight the interdisciplinary work of Biomedical Engineering in both academia and industry. Her work at UC Davis includes: breast cancer metastasis suppression, electrospinning ly non-toxic gelatin nanofibers, and designing and building stair attachments with audio and visual feedback for physical therapy for individuals with cognitive and physical deficits. As a Simons Fellow in Design Engineering from 2011-2013, her research included the use of eye tracking as a diagnostic screener and characterizing the motor behavior of children with autism spectrum disorders. After the fellowship, Maria attended the University of Houston for a Masters of Systems Engineering.
Marilyn Ackerman, M.Arch., was the Simons Design Engineering Fellow at the Yale Child Study Center from 2008-2011 and worked on haptic research for infants and toddlers. Marilyn received her Bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University in 1981 with departmental honors in studio art. She was a scientific illustrator at Wesleyan until 1985. She received her Master of Architecture degree from the Yale School of Architecture in 1988 and for the past twenty years has been president of a regional preservation firm marily working on private residential structures, National Register Houses, National Landmarks and museum projects open to the public. Her work has been featured on Restore America and The History Channel She has received grants and research funding from the National Park Service, The National Trust for Historic Preservation and the State of Connecticut. She has served as faculty at the School of Engineering at the University of Hartford, Wesleyan University Graduate Liberal studies program and the Middlesex Transition academy at Wesleyan. She lives on a small farm in Durham, CT with her husband, four donkeys, four dogs and five grandchildren. In her spare time Marilyn enjoys rowing, tree house building and Taiko drumming.