Dr. North holds bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees in science/engineering, notably creating the world’s first on/off gecko-mimetic adhesive. He’s published in a half-dozen major scientific journals, including Nature. Mike masterminded builds on the primetime Discovery Channel show Prototype This!, where he led teams of crack inventors and scientists to create never before seen spectacles of engineering. Currently Mike is bringing innovation to the toy industry as CTO at Nukotoys; has a design and rapid prototyping firm, North Design Labs; and is founder/chair of reallocate.org, a nonprofit that ReAllocates expertise to address base of the economic pyramid issues.
In his 15th year on the playa, Dr. North discusses the role Burning Man plays in shaping the world beyond Black Rock City. Through his own personal story, Mike connects the dots of how building an art car led to Prototype This!, a primetime Discovery Channel show that at its heart was about extending the creative Burning Man builder spirit to the “real world.” He’ll discuss how the show, combined with his Burning Man community, inspired him to create ReAllocate, a non-profit that combines techie ingenuity with the spirit of community to address global issues. This year at Black Rock City ReAllocate is prototyping a multicopter delivery system that will be extended to overcome the “last mile” challenge in underdeveloped parts of the world. Dr. North shares the story and gives a real-time playa look at the project.