
Dr. John Liu
Director / Principal Investigator, LEAP Group
Lecturer, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT
Scientist, MIT Digital Learning Laboratory, Open Learning
Dr. John Liu is a Lecturer in MIT’s Mechanical Engineering department and a Scientist in the MIT Digital Learning Lab. He serves education and workforce development efforts for MIT’s new campus-wide Initiative for New Manufacturing (INM). He was the Director of the Principles of Manufacturing MicroMasters program, an online certificate program that has now enrolled over 160,000 learners across the globe. His research has received recognition from ASEE, ACM CHI, and IEEE DEMOCon. He is also the recipient of the MIT IS&T Infinite Mile Award and currently serves as an executive guest editor for Manufacturing Letters. Dr. Liu earned his B.S. in Applied Physics from Caltech and S.M. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, under an MIT-SUTD fellowship and NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.
Staff

Dr. Daniel Braconnier |
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Postdoctoral Associate |
Digital Learning Laboratory Fellow |
danbrac@mit.edu |

Christian Gabbianelli |
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Software Developer |
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ctgabb@mit.edu |

Kachina Studer |
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XR Technical Associate |
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xkachina@mit.edu |

Dr. Yeo Jung Yoon |
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Postdoctoral Associate |
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yoony@mit.edu |

Dr. Ziling Chen |
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Visiting Scholar |
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zlchen@mit.edu |

Dr. Licia Mastronardi |
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Research Scientist |
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liciam@mit.edu |

Dr. Slawomir Konrad Tadeja |
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Postdoctoral Associate |
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sktadeja@mit.edu |

Sam Young |
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Administrative Assistant |
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samyoung@mit.edu |

Dr. Yibo Fan |
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Instructional Designer |
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yibofan@mit.edu |

Dr. Rolando Bautista Montesano |
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Postdoctoral Associate |
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r_b_m@mit.edu |

Dr. Meredith Thompson |
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Program Manager |
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mtknight@mit.edu |

Dr. Zhen Zhao |
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Postdoctoral Associate |
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zhenzhao@mit.edu |
Students

Dingning (Dianne) Cao |
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UROP |
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dcao2028@mit.edu |

Megan Huang |
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UROP |
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megan_h@mit.edu |

Yuhe (Claire) Xue |
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UROP |
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xyuhe10@mit.edu |

Kayana Coradin |
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UROP |
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kayana@mit.edu |

Christy Ly |
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UROP |
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lchristy@mit.edu |

Izzy Zhou |
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UROP |
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zz103@wellesley.edu |

Caroline Finn |
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UROP |
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crfinn@mit.edu |

Romina Cano Velasquez |
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UROP |
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rominacv@mit.edu |
Collaborator Groups



Collaborators

Dr. Ben Armstrong |
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Executive Director |
Industrial Performance Center Co-Lead, Work of the Future Initiative |
armst@mit.edu |

Prof. Nick Fang |
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Professor of Mechanical Engineering |
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nicfang@mit.edu |

Prof. Rohit Karnik |
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Tata Professor |
Assoc. Director, Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab |
karnik@mit.edu |

Prof. Gareth McKinley |
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School of Engineering Professor of Teaching Innovation |
gareth@mit.edu |

William (Bill) Bonvillian |
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Lecturer |
Science Technology and Society and Political Science Departments
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bonvill@mit.edu |

Prof. Dave Hardt |
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Professor of Mechanical Engineering |
Ralph E. and Eloise F. Cross Professor in Manufacturing |
hardt@mit.edu |

Dr. Bavand Keshavarz |
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MIT Lecturer |
Duke University Assistant Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science |
bavand@mit.edu |

Dr. George Westerman |
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Senior Lecturer in the MIT Sloan School of Management |
Principal Research Scientist, Workforce Learning in the MIT Office of Open Learning |
georgew@mit.edu |

Julie C. Diop |
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Program Lead |
Generative AI and the Work of the Future
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jdiop@mit.edu |

Prof. John Hart |
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Professor of Mechanical Engineering |
Mitsui Career Development Professor of Contemporary Technology |
ajhart@mit.edu |

Prof. Pierre Lermusiaux |
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Nam Pyo Suh Professor |
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pierrel@mit.edu |
Former Members & Alumni

Fatima Abbasi |
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Rafael Fernandes (‘23) |
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Emma Higgason |
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Dan Li |
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Hing (Isa) Lie |
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Tema Nwana (‘21) |
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Aarsh Patel |
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Satvik Sabarad |
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Dr. Dishita Turakhia |
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Shelly Ben-David (‘23) |
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Charlotte Folinus |
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Nathaniel Lee (‘22) |
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Emily Li |
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Dr. Rachel Mok |
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Daniel Nwazue |
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Josue Rodriguez |
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Francisco Sepulveda |
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Dr. Cigdem Uz-Bilgin |
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Gabrielle Enns (‘21) |
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Sage Gilbert-Diamond |
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Cong (Justin) Li (‘23) |
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Sandra Li (‘20) |
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Megan Ngo (‘23) |
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Gregory Osborne |
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Gillian Roeder |
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Ben Thomson |
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Emily Welsh |
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