Barry Matthew Kudrowitz

Barryk {at} mit.edu
MIT Toy Lab, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Room 3-452, Cambridge MA 02139
561.445.4994
www.wonderbarry.com

Education

Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, 2010
MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Thesis: "Ha Ha and Aha! Creativity Idea Generation, Improvisational Humor and Product Design"
Committee: David Wallace (chair), Woodie Flowers, Maria Yang, Nicola Senin, Doris Bergen
Minor: Comparative Media Studies

Visiting Researcher in Industrial Design Engineering, 2006
TU Delft, Netherlands
Research: Designing Surprises, Multisensory Incongruity and (In)Appropriateness
Advisors: Paul Hekkert, Rick Schifferstein, and Geke Ludden

M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 2006
MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Thesis: "An Exploration of Concepts for Projectile Toys"
Advisor: Professor David Wallace

B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 2004
University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida
Thesis: The Application of Pneumatic Capsule Pipelines in Conjunction with Linear Induction Motors Towards the Enhancement of the Thrill Ride Industry
Advisor: Professor Eric Petersen
Cumulative 4.0 GPA, Summa Cum Laude

Selected Awards

Teaching
Goodwin Medal for Conspicuously Effective Teaching, MIT Institute Award (2009)
Department Service Award for Outstanding Service to the Mechanical Engineering Department, MIT (2009)

Academic
Lemelson-MIT Student Prize Finalist (2010)
Carl G. Sontheimer Prize for Creativity and Innovation in Design (2010)
Rohsenow Graduate Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2004-2005)
Top Honors Graduate/summa cum laude at the University of Central Florida (2004)
Order of Pegasus - Highest award offered to a student at the University of Central Florida (2004)

Extracurricular
1st Place in MIT’s First Annual Unuseless Competition for the “Catsup Crapper” (2005)
“The Orlando Grand Slam Master” - Highest Ranked Slam Poet in Orlando (2003-2004)
20 Coolest People in Orlando 2004 (Axis Magazine November 2004; www.axismag.com)
1st Place in MIT Mic-Check Literary Competition of 2009
First Degree Black Belt in Karate (1997)

Research Interests

Product Design
Design Creativity
Idea Generation and Concept Visualization
Design Education
Design Aesthetics and User Experience
Design for Play and Entertainment
Humor

Scholarship

Publications

Kudrowitz, Barry and Wallace, David. “Assessing the Quality of Ideas from Prolific, Early Stage Product Ideation.” Full Paper Accepted for Presentation at The 2010 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences. Montreal, Canada. August 15-18, 2010.

Kudrowitz, Barry and Wallace, David. “Improvisational Comedy and Product Design Ideation: Making Non-Obvious Connections between Seemingly Unrelated Things.” Full Paper Accepted for Presentation at The International Conference on Design and Emotion. Chicago. Oct 5-7, 2010.

Kudrowitz, Barry and Wallace, David. “The Play Pyramid: A Play Classification and Ideation Tool for Toy Design." The Journal of Arts and Technology. Vol 3, Issue 1, 2010.

Ludden, Geke; Kudrowitz, Barry; Schifferstein, Hendrick; and Hekkert, Paul. “Surprise and Humor in Product Design." Humor: The International Journal of Humor. In Press

Gutowski, Timothy; Taplett, Amanda; Kudrowitz, Barry; et al. “Environmental Life Style Analysis (ELSA)." IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment. May 2008.

Invited Talks and Workshops

“Creative Toy Design Engineering.” Workshop at The Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE). Hong Kong. June 21-25, 2010.

“Real Toys for an Increasing Virtual World.” Panelist. Sandbox Summit: iPlay, YouPlay, WiiPlay. MIT, Cambridge, MA. May 18-19, 2010

“Design for Play. Play for Design." International Conference on Toys and Children's Products. Alicante, Spain. May 14-15, 2009.

“The Play Pyramid: A Play Classification and Ideation Tool for Toy Design." International Toy Research Association 5th World Congress 'Toys and Culture'. Napflion, Greece. July 9 -11, 2008.

“Gathering Ideas: Product Design and Innovation." Design Cork Seminar. Lisbon, Portugal. May 16, 2008.

Teaching Experience

Toy Product Design (2.00b/SP.778) http://web.mit.edu/2.00b/www
Co-Creator and Course Instructor, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Description: project-based course that introduces undergraduates to product design process and techniques
Roles: develop and teach lecture content, assist in fund raising, maintain a machine shop, supervise lab sections and staff, website design and maintenance, community and industry contact

Advanced Toy Product Design (SP.779)
Co-Creator and Course Instructor, 2008, 2009
Description: continuation of Toy Product Design, students take designs to a more advanced prototype stage
Roles: supervise shop and advise in design, scheduling, and prototyping

Product Engineering Processes (2.009) http://web.mit.edu/2.009/www
Lab Instructor and Teaching Assistant, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009
Description: mechanical engineering capstone undergraduate design course
Lab Instructor Roles: supervise a team of students, facilitate organization, and assist in design and build
Teaching Assistant: prepare lecture material, photo and video documentation of the course, lecture assistance

Product Design (2.744) http://web.mit.edu/2.744/www
Teaching Assistant, 2006, 2008
Description: graduate project-based course emphasizing user experience, product form, and human factors
Roles: preparing lecture material, photo and video documenting, quiz grading, assisting in prototyping

Design Experience

Product Design

Hasbro Toy Research (2004-2006)
Design and fabrication of SuperSoaker® and Nerf® projectile toys
Design of the Nerf Atom Blaster currently on the market
US Patent Application US20080078366: Toy Projectile Launching Device, 2007
Research performed with William Fienup and David Wallace

5-Wits Interactive Entertainment (2005-2006)
Co-design of an elevator simulator for interactive show at the Spy Museum in Washington DC
Group project for MIT Course 2.744 Product Design
Storyboarding, set design, and animatronics for interactive “Tomb” show in Boston (2005)
http://www.5-wits.com and http://www.spymuseum.org/operationspy/index.php

The Catsup Crapper or AuTomato (2005)
Design of a catsup bottle that roller skates to a plate and dispenses catsup
First place recipient in the first annual MIT Unuseless Competition
Featured on The Martha Stewart Show (2008)
http://www.catsupcrapper.com and http://www.automato57.com

The Enscribe Whiteboard Table (2005)
A conference table with removable whiteboard surface for group brainstorm
Group project for MIT Course 2.739J Product Design and Development

Endoscopic Biopsy Needle Design (2004)
Coring needle design that preserves tissue histology
US Patent Application US20080300507: Biopsy Needle, 2008
Group Project for MIT Course 2.75 Precision Machine Design
Advised by Dr. William Brugge, and Alex Slocum

Creativity Tools

Cross Products (2007)
Card game that promotes innovation by mixing elements of existing products

Association Mapping (2007)
Mind mapping technique specific to product design that allows designers to make non-obvious connections

Entertainment Design

Design Squad (2006)
Design and consulting for PBS design television show targeted at high school students to promote engineering
Prototyping musical instruments for music-related episode

Designerds! Product Design TV (2005-2006)
Producer and Host of MIT-based Product Design Television Pilot
Interdisciplinary teams of graduate students develop new musical instruments
Advisors Profs. Meejin Yoon and David Wallace and Co-Producer Chandler Hatton

The Archimedes Death Ray (2006)
Feasibility testing to determine if a mirror array can be used to set a wooden boat on fire
Group project advised by Professor David Wallace
Seen on Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters Episode 46

MIT Musical Theatre Guild (2007)
Set design and build
Publicity and graphic design
Actor

Selected Media Exposure

“Toy Product Design." Exhibit at the MIT Museum. 256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA 02139. June 2008-10.

Katy Jordan. "Wily Wonks and The High-Tech Toy Factory." Boston Herald. May 16, 2010.

Michael Tedder. “Toy Story." FLYP Media. Issue 30. May 26 - June 7, 2009. http://www.flypmedia.com/issues/30/\#6/1

“Barry Kudrowitz: Brainstorming in the MIT Toy Lab." Imagine It! 2. DVD. Infinite Loop Media LLC. 2009. http://www.imagineitproject.com/?p=2314

“Unuseless Inventions." Martha Stewart Show. Fine Living Channel. New York. Feb 15th, 2008. http://www.marthastewart.com/article/unuseless-japanese-inventions

“Rock On: Episode 2." Design Squad. PBS. Boston. 2007. http://pbskids.org/designsquad/season1/index.html?pid=WIx5iZxOB\_ZJPjQK9ri0Dpxwcpy\_ANtM

Toy Soldier: At Play with Barry Kudrowitz, MIT Toy Designer. MIT Tech Talk. December 12, 2007

Paul McMorrow. “Good Bostonian: Barry Kudrowitz, Product Designer. " Weekly Dig Magazine. August 2007. http://www.weeklydig.com/news-opinions/feature/200708/barry-kudrowitz

“Archimedes Death Ray: Episode 46." Mythbusters. Discovery Channel. San Francisco. January 25, 2006.