"We are so proud of this year's program and what it offers to our audience. The gathering of thought leaders, experts, and innovators -- all makers -- from around the world on so many different topics related to making fully illustrates the reach and diversity of the maker movement," said Dale Dougherty, co-founder of Maker Faire and president of Maker Media. "It's really the premier place for learning about making. And we're thrilled to give our attendees first-hand access to this incredible knowledge base."
From learning how to take an idea to reality with crowdsourcing or venture capital funding to the future of 3D printing to bringing homesteading and food making to new heights, and so much in between, Faire visitors will find the information they're seeking. Eight stages featuring over 200 sessions will illuminate attendees and engage makers of all ages and levels. The full program can be found at http://makerfaire.com/bay-area-2014/schedule/.
Highlights of the Maker Faire Bay 2014 program include:
- Center Stage: Center Stage will showcase the thought leaders and experts of the maker movement to discuss the current trends in making and what the future of making holds.
- Joe Magnacca, CEO of Radio Shack and Dale Dougherty, president and CEO of Maker Media: Radio Shack and the Maker Neighborhood -- A discussion on the needs of the maker and the evolution of America's electronics store.
- Timothy Ferriss: Experiments in Lifestyle Design: An Interview with Mark Frauenfelder -- Described as a serial entrepreneur and ultra-vagabond, Ferriss is an angel investor/advisor (Facebook, Twitter, Uber, and many more) and author of three #1 NY Times bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, and The 4-Hour Chef.
- Chip Yates: Make | Ride | Fly: 200 MPH in 2 Homemade Electric Vehicles -- Yates is an electric vehicle pioneer with 18 world records in battery-powered vehicles of his own design. In addition, he is a true entrepreneur and a prolific inventor with more than 9 vehicle-related patents, 3 of which are for advanced electric vehicles with more pending.
- Emily Pilloton: If You Build It... -- Pilloton is a designer, educator, TED speaker, and founder and director of Project H Design, a nonprofit design and architecture agency that uses the power of creativity and hands-on building to catalyze communities and public education from within. Project H's core focus is applying design and full-scale building projects to activate public education systems in the US and to provide a more engaged learning framework for K-12 students.
- Steve Jurvetson: Making Rockets: The Democratization of Matter -- Jurvetson is a Silicon valley-based venture capitalist with current board responsibilities at SpaceX, Synthetic Genomics, and Tesla Motors. He was chosen by the SF Chronicle and SF Examiner as one of "the ten people expected to have the greatest impact on the Bay Area in the early part of the 21st Century." His technical background in programming, materials science research, computer design, and product marketing is a solid match to his business savvy.
- David Pogue: Should Science Be Allowed to Be Interesting? -- Pogue is a best-selling author, anchor columnist for Yahoo Tech, host of science shows on PBS's "NOVA," among many other things, and is having his Maker Faire Bay Area debut in this year's program.
- Make: Live Stage: Bringing the experts and innovators together for conversations about emerging technologies, new practices, and community.
- Anouk Wipprecht: Robotic Fashion and Intimate Interfaces -- Wipprecht is on the forefront of fashion's future, launching a new area of "fashion-tech," where clothing surpasses pure function and includes interactions with the wearer and the environment.
- Jeri Ellsworth: The Development of castAR - The World's Premier Projected Augmented Reality System -- Ellsworth is an entrepreneur, inventor, and self-taught computer chip designer. She co-founded Technical Illusions and is currently leading the design, development and manufacture of castAR.
- Maker Pro Stage: New to the Faire this year, the Maker Pro Stage is designed for makers who are interested in the connections between making and entrepreneurship. Attendees will hear from those with direct experience about how they created a making business and how makers with new products and ideas might take a similar journey. For attendees aspiring to launch a hardware-based crowdfunding project many of these sessions are a must-see, such as:
- Ian Lesnet: Get Your Stuff Made: Four Approaches to Open Hardware Manufacturing -- Lesnet founded DangerousProtoypes.com where he launches a new open hardware project every month.
- Al Linke: Running a Kickstarter with a Day Job -- Linke is director of information technology at a Fortune 500 company. Outside of his day job, he enjoys making and maintains the PIXEL: LED ART and DIY Magic Mirror projects.
- Panel discussion sessions curated by crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter, and accelerator/venture funder, HAXLR8R.
- Make: Electronics Stage: This stage will be the top spot for information on getting started on the most popular making platforms. Editors from MAKE magazine will speak and offer their insight and experiences on making with electronics via a range of "Getting Started" talks that cover Arduino, RaspberryPi, Intel Galileo, and BeagleBone. Other robotics and electronics makers will share talks on specific projects, such as:
- Charles Platt: Learning by Discovery -- Platt is an all-time best-selling author of Make: Electronics and the forthcoming Make: More Electronics who loves to share with readers unique, hands-on, fun and innovative experiments with op-amps, comparators, logic chips, and sensors.
- Snehesh Shrestha: How to Build a Robot from a Used Wheelchair & Control it with Your Phone -- Shrestha is a senior engineer at Qualcomm, and the founder and president of the Qualcomm Robotics Club. He believes all problems are just opportunities to solve them.
- Matt Richardson: Getting Started with RaspberryPi & Getting Started with Galileo -- Richardson is a contributing editor at MAKE magazine, a creative technologist, and the owner of Awesome Button Studios, a technology consultancy.
- Make: Education Stage: This is another area of the event where the content available is unrivaled, and where attendees will have access to the A-list in this field. Speakers will discuss engaging children of all ages about making in and out of the classroom.
- Rebecca Grabman: Making Makers Out of Young Children -- Grabman is the manager of MAKESHOP at Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. She gets paid to play, make, teach and learn with and from the visitors and staff. She is passionate about creating tools and experiences that encourage communication, conversation, and collaboration for educational and entertainment purposes.
- Rick Schertle: How to Start and Run a Maker Club for Kids -- Schertle teaches middle school in San Jose, CA, is a regular contributor to MAKE Magazine, and loves all things that fly.
- Textile Lounge: Hosted by the team from Swap-O-Rama-Rama , the experts of creative reuse through the recycling of used clothing, attendees can learn all about sewing, DIY screen printing, upcycling textile items, crafting, and more.