Education

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Media Lab Cambridge, MA.
Ph.D. candidate, Media Arts and Sciences (expected 2008). Tangible Media Group.
Concentration: Educational toys.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Media Lab Cambridge, MA.
Master of Sciences, Media Arts and Sciences. June 2004. Tangible Media Group.

Yale University, New Haven, CT.
Bachelor of Arts, Fine Art. May 1996. Concentration: Sculpture.
Cum Laude, Distinction in the Major.

Tangible Media Group, MIT Media Lab. 2002-Present. Research and development of tangible computer interfaces.
Project lead, Topobo toys. 2002-2006. Ideation, design and development of Topobo building toy. Manage $500k project with 4-8 engineering and design students to take project from concept to production manufacturing.
Instructor, Interactive Toy Design Studio, MIT Media Lab. 2006. Organized and conducted intensive toy design studio for graduate and undergraduate students.
Industrial Designer, IDEO. 2005. Intern, consumer products, experience design and concept ideation for Fortune-500 clients.
Teaching Assistant, Tangible Interfaces. 2003-2005. MIT graduate design course on tangible media.
Founder, Rafelandia design studio. 1999-2002. Industrial and graphic design studio serving consumer industries. Clients included LeapFrog Toys, Sony, Covad DSL, Ditto.com, Supracor, Tanya Starnes (Attorney), Babcock and Brown (Investment Bank).
Engineer, San Francisco Exploratorium. 2001-2002. Electro-Mechanical engineering. Design and fabrication of educational museum exhibits.
ZOOB Toys concept and design. 1995-1999. Co-developed and co-designed award winning ZOOB building toy system from original concept through manufacture.
Director, Design Department, Primoridal, LLC. 1997-1999. Directed in-house design division of Primordial, LLC with staff of 3-8 designers. Developed educational methodologies for teaching with ZOOB via print and video mediums. Designed promotional ZOOB packaging with clients such as Disney Corporation and GAP Kids.
Graphic Artist and Research Assistant to Robert Farris Thompson, Ph.D. 1996-1998. Created supporting art for Thompson’s articles in journals such as African Arts magazine, and Res 32 (Harvard Symposium of Anthropology and Aesthetics). Aided in primary source research and created photo documentation for graduate student seminars comparing West African and North American indigenous architecture.
Founder and Designer, Yale Corinthian Yacht Club Merchandising Division. 1993-1996. Created a brand ID for the Yale Sailing Team. Designed merchandising paraphernalia and created a revenue-building division for the Yale Corinthian Yacht Club.

Raffle, H., and Tichenor, J. Super Cilia Skin: Interfaz de Texturas, Pasajes Construcción: Materiales. Number 31, September 2007, pp. 8-9 and front cover. Madrid: América Ibérica.

Raffle, H., Yip, L., Ishii, H. Remix and Robo: sampling, sequencing and real-time control of a tangible robotic construction system. In Proceedings of Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, Educator's Forum (SIGGRAPH '07), (San Diego, CA, August 5-9 2007).

Raffle, H., Vaucelle, C., Wang, R., Ishii, H. Jabberstamp: Embedding Sound and Voice in Traditional Drawings. In Proceedings of Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, Educator's Forum (SIGGRAPH '07), (San Diego, CA, August 5-9 2007).

Merrill, D., Raffle, H. The Sound of Touch, in Extended Abstracts of Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, Emerging Technologies (SIGGRAPH '07), (San Diego, CA, August 5-9 2007).

Raffle, H., Yip, L., Ishii, H. Remix and Robo: sampling, sequencing and real-time control of a tangible robotic construction system. In Proceedings of Conference on Interaction Design and Children (IDC 07), (Aalborg, Denmark June 6-8, 2007).

Raffle, H., Vaucelle, C., Wang, R., Ishii, H. Jabberstamp: Embedding Sound and Voice in Traditional Drawings. In Proceedings of Conference on Interaction Design and Children (IDC 07), (Aalborg, Denmark June 6-8, 2007).

Merrill, D., Raffle, H. The Sound of Touch, in Extended Abstracts of Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 07), (San Jose, CA April 28-May 3, 2007).

Raffle, H., Yip, L. and Ishii, H. Robo Topobo: Improvisational Performance with Robotic Toys. Extended Abstracts of Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Systems (SIGGRAPH 2006). Boston, MA.

Raffle, H., Parkes, A., Lifton, J, and Ishii, H. Beyond Record and Play — Backpacks: Tangible Modulators of Kinetic Behavior. Proceedings of Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2006). Montreal, Canada.

Raffle, H., Tichenor, J., and Ishii, H. Super Cilia Skin: A Textural Interface, Textile: The Journal of Cloth and Culture. London: Berg Publishers. 2004.

Raffle, H. Topobo: A 3-D Constructive Assembly System with Kinetic Memory, Master's Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2004.

Raffle, H., Parkes, A. and Ishii, H. Topobo: A Constructive Assembly System with Kinetic Memory, Proceedings of Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2004), Vienna, Austria.

Maynes-Aminzade, D. and Raffle, H. You’re In Control: Streaming Video, Maxim Magazine Belgium, November 2003. Maxim Magazine Russia/Ukraine, November 2003. Maxim Magazine USA, August 2003.

Maynes-Aminzade, D. and Raffle, H. Interaktives Pissoir, bild der wissenschaft, September 2003.

Raffle, H., Joachim, M., and Tichenor, J. Super Cilia Skin: An Interactive Membrane, Proceedings of CHI 2003.

Maynes-Aminzade, D. and Raffle, H. You’re In Control: A Urinary User Interface, Proceedings of CHI 2003.

H. Raffle, A. Parkes, H. Ishii. Pending: Physical Modeling System To Create Three-Dimensional Forms and Manipulate Them With The Aid Of Computation. Application filed April 20, 2004. A construction set consisting of active and passive components that can be assembled to create things that move, like animals and skeletons. MIT Media Lab.

H. Raffle, D. Maynes-Amnizade. US Patent Number 7,143,654: Methods and apparatus for detecting the presence, intensity, trajectory or location of a liquid stream. Application filed Dec. 10, 2004. Sensors attached to a flexible membrane input the position of a liquid stream to a computer. MIT Media Lab.

Robots at Play 2007. Most playful robotic system, Topobo.
2007 Web 2.0 Award. Honorable Mention, "Fun Stuff," Fuzzmail.
LEGO Fellow, 2005-2006. Fellowship for Research in educational technologies at the MIT Media Lab.
Director's Grant. 2005. MIT Office of the Arts grant to produce Applause video installation for the Boston Cyberarts Festival.
iCampus grant. 2005. Grant award from Microsoft Corp. for design, community outreach and education research with Topobo.
ARS Electronica 2004, Honorable Mention, Interactive Art. Topobo.
Design of Interactive Systems Interactive Design Awards. 2004 Honorable mention, Topobo.
I.D. Magazine Annual Design Review, 2004. Design Distinction, Student Work, Topobo.
LEGO Fellow, 2003-2004. Fellowship for Research at the MIT Media Lab.
MIT Media Lab, 2002-2003. Fellowship for Research Assistantship with the Tangible Media Group.
I.D. Magazine Annual Design Review, 1999. Design Distinction, Consumer Products, ZOOB toys.
National Parenting Center Seal of Approval. 1998. ZOOB Toys.
Family Fun finalist.1998. ZOOB Toys.
Parent's Choice Honors. 1997. ZOOB Toys.
Dr. Toy. 1997. 10 Best Toys of the year. ZOOB Toys.
University of California at Santa Barbara. 1992. Merit Scholarship.

Robots at Play. 2007. Odense, Denmark.
SIGGRAPH Emerging Technologies. 2007. San Diego, CA.
Play Innovation. 2007. Kitakyushu Innovation Gallery & Studio inaugural exhibition. Kitakyushu, Japan.
Future Film Festival. 2007. Bologna, Italy.
iCampus Exhibition. 2006. MIT Museum. Six month exhibition of Microsoft-MIT alliance (Topobo). Cambridge, MA.
Imaging Body and Mind. 2006. Hartford Atheneum, Hartford, CT.
Collision Ten. 2006. Art Interactive, Cambridge, MA.
SIGGRAPH Educational Robotics Demo. 2006.SIGGRAPH conference session on educational robotics (Topobo). Boston, MA.
SIGGRAPH Etech. 2006. SIGGRAPH conference session on emerging technologies (Topobo). Boston, MA.
Threads. 2006. Artspace Gallery, New Haven, CT.
Boston Cyberarts Festival. 2005. Stata Center Balcony. Cambridge, MA.
Collision Seven: Chance. 2005. Art Interactive. Cambridge, MA.
Show Me Yours: a presentation of recent work in the School of Architecture and Planning (MIT). 2004. Cambridge, MA.
Collision Six: Senses. 2004. Group exhibition. Art Interactive. Cambridge, MA.
Artbots: The Robot Talent Show. 2004. Group exhibition. The Mink Building. New York, NY.
Cyberarts 2004. 2004 Ars Electronica interactive art awards exhibition. OK Centrum, Linz, Austria.
ARS Electronica Center. 2004.One year installation, Topobo. Linz, Austria.
Wired NextFest. 2004. Wired Magazine international technology exhibition. Fort Mason Center. San Francisco, CA.
Collision 5. 2003. Boston Cyberarts Festival at the MIT Compton Gallery, Cambridge, MA. Group show.
NewFangle 2002. Herbst International Exhibition Hall, San Francisco, CA. Group show.
Hypercollision 2002. MIT Museum. Cambridge, MA. Group show.
Exploratorium “Prepared Exploratorium.” 2001. San Francisco, CA. Group show about perception and sound.
Exploratorium “Chain Reaction.” 2001. San Francisco, CA. Group show curated by Arthur Ganson.
Yale University. 2001. New Haven, CT. Alumni exhibition.
University of California at Santa Barbara. 1992. Temporary outdoor installation.

Boston Cyberarts 2007. Physical Intelligence: roundtable discussion on the body's body of knowledge. Cambridge, MA.
UC Berkeley Institute of Design (BID). 2007. Sculpting Behavior. Berkeley, CA.
Hartford Atheneum Art & Science Podium. 2006. Social Imaging: Data Painting from Human Behavior. In Imaging Body and Mind. Hartford Atheneum, Hartford, CT.
SIGGRAPH educator's forum. 2006. Toys as Trojan Horses for Learning. Boston, MA.
MIT Media Lab. 2006. Trojan Horses for Ideas. Ph. D. General Exams. Cambridge, MA.
Flandrau Science Center. 2005. Advisory board member, Stile II. Tangibles for Learning. Tucson, AZ.
MIT Graduate Arts Forum. 2004. Bio Art. 2004. Panel discussion of artwork and research.
Boston Museum of Science. 2004. Presentation of research (Topobo).
Cooper-Hewitt Summer Design Institute 2004. Workshop: Reinventing Froebel's gifts. New York, NY.
CAMPUS-TI. 2004. Lecturer, workshops on design of tangible interfaces. Valencia, Spain.
MITRE. 2004. Presentation of art, design and research to internal R&D groups. Bedford, MA.
Interaction Design Institute Ivrea. 2004. Presentation of research (Topobo). Ivrea, Italy.
International Symposium on Human Factors in Computing Systems. 2004. Presentation of research. Vienna, Austria.
Tufts University. 2003. Center for Engineering Education Outreach. Presentation of research. Boston, MA.
LEGO Corporation. 2003. Presentation of research. Billund, Denmark.
Ars Electronica Futurelab. 2003. Presentation of research. Linz, Austria.
School of the Museum of Fine Arts. 2002. Visiting speaker in sculpture department. Boston, MA.

Precision Machining Mill and Lathe (CNC and manual), LaserCam, Water Jet Cutter.
Forming and Joining Injection Molding, 3D Printing, Vacuum Forming, Welding (TIG, MIG, Arc and torch), composite construction, finished carpentry, carving, modern finishing techniques, various casting techniques.
Electronics Circuit design and manufacture, motors, electronic sensing technologies, embedded programming and interface with hardware, and a variety of cameras (video, still, digital, analog),
Materials and fabrication Steel, Aluminum, bronze, wood, acrylic, delrin. Industrial resins, rubbers, foams, composites and thermoplastics.
Printmaking Woodblock, Intaglio, photoengraving, serigraph, offset lithography.

Mac and PC expertise.
Graphics Photoshop, Illustrator, Quark, InDesign.
Web Flash, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, HTML.
Video Final Cut Pro, iMovie, Media Cleaner.
CAD/CAM Vellum Cobalt (3D modeling), Rhino (3D modeling), Featurecam (CAD/CAM toolpath generation), Protel, Eagle(printed circuit board design).
Programming Languages C, scripting.
Other Word, Excel, Acrobat, Project.

References are available by request.