Professional Summary

Dr. MacNair serves as Director of Laboratory Development in the Woodruff School, and manages Junior and Senior level laboratories in Mechanical Engineering.  He develops innovative laboratory experiences based on lessons-learned from the maker movement and real-world industrial challenges, and is building an "ecosystem" of academic laboratory equipment and curriculum resources which allows universities to collaborate on the development and execution of effective undergraduate laboratory experiences.

Dr. MacNair joined the Woodruff School in 2015 after working for the Georgia Tech Research Institute, and as an Educational Consultant for Enable Training and Consulting and National Instruments before that.  He received his BS in Mechanical Engineering in 2008 and his PhD in Robotics in 2013, both from Georgia Tech.

In his non-work hours, David serves as co-founder and board member of the Southeast Maker Alliance (Southeast US Regional Leadership for the Maker Movement) as well as Director of Maker Faire Atlanta.  He also guides the development and investment of various Atlanta-based foundations and non-profits targeting K-12 education.