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| CREATE Lab | |
|---|---|
| Name | CREATE Lab |
| Formation | 2005 |
| Type | Research lab |
| Location | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Affiliation | Carnegie Mellon University |
| Leader title | Director |
| Leader name | Dr. Golan Levin |
CREATE Lab
The CREATE Lab is a research studio and outreach group based in Pittsburgh that combines Carnegie Mellon University-based engineering, design, and arts practice to produce tangible interactive systems, civic media, and maker-oriented curricula. The lab’s portfolio spans robotics, tangible interfaces, data visualization, participatory design, and educational technology, engaging stakeholders from community organizations to technology companies. Its outputs include deployed installations, open-source hardware and software, published scholarship, and community workshops that intersect with fields represented at institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and Georgia Institute of Technology.
The lab was established in 2005 within Carnegie Mellon University by faculty intent on blending research traditions from Human-Computer Interaction Institute, School of Computer Science, and arts programs such as School of Art (Carnegie Mellon University). Early projects drew connections to precedents at MIT Media Lab and Interaction Design Institute Ivrea, and collaborators included researchers affiliated with University of Pittsburgh and regional partners such as The Andy Warhol Museum. Over time the lab expanded to include graduate students and staff with backgrounds tied to programs at Pratt Institute, Rhode Island School of Design, and University of California, Berkeley, producing work informed by histories of tangible computing and participatory media exemplified by figures associated with Xerox PARC and Bell Labs.
The lab’s stated mission centers on designing and deploying "low-barrier" technologies that enable creative expression and civic engagement, influenced by theoretical frameworks from scholars at MIT Media Lab, Harvard University, and University of Oxford. Research areas emphasize tangible interaction, embodied interfaces, and data physicalization, building on methodologies used at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and informed by standards from Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Work threads connect to inquiries pursued at New York University, University of California, San Diego, and Dartmouth College on human-centered computing and social impact.
Project outputs include interactive installations, open-source toolkits, and community-focused curricula. Notable initiatives relate to textile-based soft robotics akin to work at Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, low-cost sensing platforms resonant with projects from University of Washington, and participatory media efforts similar to those produced by ProPublica and NPR. Programs have included maker-education pilots in partnership with local school districts and summer institutes echoing formats from National Science Foundation-funded outreach. Several projects were exhibited alongside works at Museum of Modern Art, Carnegie Museum of Art, and festivals such as SIGGRAPH and South by Southwest.
The lab has collaborated with municipal agencies in Pittsburgh, nonprofits like Local Initiatives Support Corporation, and industry partners including firms comparable to Google and Intel. Research grants and collaborative projects involved agencies analogous to National Endowment for the Arts, National Science Foundation, and philanthropic entities similar to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Academic collaborations include joint ventures with centers at University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University, and University of Michigan, and arts partnerships with organizations such as City of Asylum and Children's Museum of Pittsburgh.
Located within facilities associated with Carnegie Mellon University and regional maker spaces, the lab’s infrastructure includes fabrication equipment comparable to that found at Fab Lab Network, electronics prototyping suites used in MIT Hobby Shop environments, and testing spaces akin to those at Robotics Institute (Carnegie Mellon University). Technology stacks draw on open-source ecosystems like Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and software frameworks similar to Processing and OpenFrameworks. Hardware design practices reference standards from ISO and electronics supply chains similar to those serving startup incubators such as Pittsburgh Technology Council members.
Work from the lab has been recognized through exhibitions, awards, and press coverage in outlets comparable to The New York Times, Wired, and Fast Company. Projects have influenced curricula adopted by school districts and maker programs inspired by initiatives at National Science Teachers Association conferences. The lab’s open-source releases and prototypes have been cited in academic publications from venues like CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, and Advances in Human-Computer Interaction.
- Dr. Golan Levin — faculty director with collaborations spanning MIT Media Lab, Carnegie Mellon University, and international festivals such as Ars Electronica. - Collaborating faculty and alumni who trained at institutions including Princeton University, Yale University, Columbia University, University of California, Los Angeles, Brown University, Cornell University, Imperial College London, University College London, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Royal College of Art, Goldsmiths, University of London, University of Toronto, McGill University, Monash University, Seoul National University, Tsinghua University, Peking University, Australian National University, ETH Zurich, Technical University of Munich, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Delft University of Technology, Politecnico di Milano.
Category:Carnegie Mellon University research groups