Team
Our incredible, self-motivated team members!
Amanda Rau
Amanda is a Senior Animation Major with a minor in Game Design who loves to cosplay in their free time. She enjoys working with the resin printers and making their own patterns for cosplay. They relax by playing video games (like RDR2 and BG3) and making paper crafts. They’re originally from Portland, OR and love collaborating with patrons of the space and WILL talk your ear off about their latest hyperfixation.
Karolina Salamon
Karolina is a sophomore studying industrial design with a minor in Spanish. Hailing from the suburbs of Chicago, she has a background in graphic design and CNC machining. In her free time, she enjoys reading, playing volleyball, spending tme with family, and playing the violin.
Max Hammer
Max hammer is an ascending animator from North Carolina. He has a knack for woodworking while also having experience in 3d printing, and laser cutting. Max is also interested in urban planning and traveling.
Vinod Sharma
Vinod is a Computer Science student passionate about building innovative software and solving complex coding challenges. As a key member of DePaul’s Idea Realization Lab, he manages major tech operations, helping drive the lab’s mission of creativity and innovation. Outside of tech, Vinod enjoys video games and exploring new opportunities in technology and entertainment.
Aidan
Aidan is a sophomore studying astrophysics with a minor in math. In his free time he likes to read (mainly sci-fi and non-fiction) and play video games (like Disco Elysium and Hollow Knight). He enjoys using 3D printers and tinkering with electronics.
Ean Rains
Ean is a third year senior, double majoring in Political Science and Diplomacy, with a focus in international relations, as well as double minors in Industrial Design and Art History. He comes from a background in technical theatre doing set carpentry and props, but has now moved to illustration and furniture design. At the IRL , he specializes in the woodshop, both with traditional tools and the CNCs.
Jonathan Shepard
Born in raised in the best suburb of Minneapolis; Eden Prairie. He is double majoring in math and music production. Best of both worlds. He likes hardwood and hates respirators. He used to be bad about protecting his hearing, but he’s getting better about that. 6 foot 165lbs. He has a mustache. He loves lakes. One time he got plants from oak park.
Matthew Irving
Matthew is an employee at the IRL. He is from Chicago. He enjoys the finer things in life. Like cycling and video games. He listens to music and enjoys long walks on the beach. Matthew skates downtown and likes working with textiles and sewing.
Erin Albers
Erin is a senior in film and television with a screenwriter concentration. She loves dogs, print making, and is friends with Sean. She is from Kansas (the largest producer of wheat, invented helicopters, invented Pizza Hut, state animal is buffalo). She has seen a tornado (NOT in a movie).
Gia
Gia is currently a junior majoring in neuroscience and minoring in art. They love making things and combining a range of interests. She enjoys writing crochet patterns and sells her amigurumi on Etsy. In her free time, she likes to juggle, play instruments, raise carnivorous plants, and read. Gia’s main interest is making prosthetics, and they hope to pursue it as a career someday. They have worked at the IRL since the fall of 2023. Gia has two pets; a ball python named Cookie and a tarantula named Lucy.
Tina
Tina is a junior studying industrial design and marketing. In their free time, they enjoy drawing, model-making, and 3D printing. They have an interest in trains and hope to eventually collaborate with Metra. They also love pigeons and fruit-themed things! To wind down, she tends to engage in her interests (such as games like TF2 and Undertale (very epic)).
Noah
Noah is a Journalism major with a minor in creative writing. He is Senior who is a Libra (whatever that means).Noahs favorite band is cheek face and his favorite song from them is ‘when life hands you problems’.If Noah could have an object from and piece of media he would choose the Portal gun with potato Gladis attached. Noah is also in the band Sleepdog! where they play guitar and sing. He also plays cello in his off time and has been playing since middle school. Noah’s favorite machine is the Ultimaker s5. A cool project that he’s done is a workshop collaboration with the writing center where he had patrons write poems and then transfer them onto posters.
Hannah
Hannah is in her Junior Year, Majoring in Animation. Born in Colorado. Would love to visit Brazil. Scared of Volcanoes, Snakes. Animation marjor, absolutely loves cartoons and a cosplayer. She has a cat named Sasha. They visited IRL and liked lighting was excited seeing 3D printer and joined IRL later in her winter quarter. Hannah finds relaxing while she’s sleeping 😆
Alia Khan
Alia is a junior studying environmental studies with a concentration in sustainability. Their art appreciates and elevates raw, sustainable material (such as hand-made yarn and pineapple cordage), which brings a natural vibe to their work. Their interest in the natural world extends to their hobbies, like investigating the ecological systems of games like Skyrim, frolicking in various farmer’s markets,and keeping a pet millipede named $heriff. Alia loves to foster patrons’ creativity and artistry and appreciates the accessibility of creative spaces like the IRL, where they’ve worked since the last academic year.
Ava Maginity
Ava is a third-year game designer and multimedia visual artist bringing their penchant for oddity and surrealist creation to the lab. They can be found working on embroidery, screenprinting, or rug tufting, showcasing their keen eye for the tended to and lovably strange. Utilizing a desire for fantastical visual and Dalí-without-the-Horrors-esque art, Ava strives towards the creation of numerous handmade textile goods alongside programmed art and otherwise absurdist projects. Ava has been a warm, enthusiastic staff member of the IRL since and enjoys helping any similarly-minded creative looking to further their virtual or tactile expanse.
Ayesha
Ayesha is a master student majoring in computer science and AI. She’s a dog person, and her favorite movie is the kissing booth. She’s from Hyderabad India. Her hobbies are reading, watching K-dramas, and cooking. Her favorite book is the alchemist. She’s excited to do some tech stuff and work with the sewing machines, and the project she’s most proud of is Prosound, an amplifying sound project for the auditorily impaired.
Leif
Leif (They/Them) has a Double BFA in Film + TV and Animation, with concentrations in editing and 3D animation They are a Junior, and are likely to be here forever. They are a Pisces (whatever that means) whose favorite machines in the lab are the Ultimaker S5 and the Formlabs at the IRL2. Their favorite project was a pair of water blades from Genshin Impact, which was one of their first things they made in the space. Their goal in the space is to use their knowledge of 3D modeling to teach patrons at the IRL. If they could have one handheld object from a piece of fiction in real life, they would have the Antennas from the Disastrous Life of Saiki K, and their favorite musical artist is bo en.