Dr. Eric Brubaker is a complex systems engineer at NASA Langley Research Center where he works to address challenges at the intersection of community health, planetary health and aviation. He has interdisciplinary training as a designer, engineer, educator and ethnographer. His scholarship advances co-design practice; expands conceptions of design expertise; and critically examines disparities in who is benefited or burdened by engineered products and systems.
He is a teacher at heart and has previously taught classes ranging from MIT “D-Lab Earth” to Stanford “Organizing for Good.” He was an R&D engineer at Battelle Memorial Institute, a researcher at the New England Complex Systems Institute and a program manager at MIT D-Lab where he supported grassroots organizations to advance access to safe water, sustainable energy, and conservation agriculture.
Dr. Brubaker holds a PhD and MS in Mechanical Engineering (Design), an MA in the Learning Sciences, and a certificate in Critical Consciousness and Anti-Oppressive Praxis from Stanford University. He also holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Ohio State University. He is based in Atlanta and enjoys bicycles and spoken word.