Meet Taylor Caputo, Director of the Engineering Studios @ Venture Lab

Since Tangen Hall’s 2020 opening, Taylor Caputo (IPD’15), Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (MEAM), has directed the Engineering Studios @ Venture Lab, introducing hundreds of students to the entrepreneurial possibilities of manufacturing your own ideas.

The primary instructor for the popular elective How to Make Things, which she co-created with Dustyn Roberts, Practice Associate Professor in MEAM, Caputo is also a practicing artist, working at the intersection of traditional craft, product design and technology.

Drawing inspiration from local sources as varied as Pennsylvania Dutch folk art, the work of pop artist (and Pennsylvania native) Andy Warhol and the richness of Philadelphia’s cultural heritage, Caputo connects people and places across time as both a teacher and artist.

With the Engineering Studios @ Venture Lab celebrating their five-year anniversary, Penn Engineering sat down with Caputo to learn more about her vision for the space, and what the Studios offer Penn students, faculty and staff — all of whom can sign up for a free Venture Lab membership online, and use the Studios’ laser cutters, 3D printers and more.

How did you first get involved in making things?

I began taking ceramics classes at five years old — and I still practice ceramics today. I’ve always loved working with my hands and creating functional objects. The satisfaction of using or wearing something I’ve made never gets old.

My family also modeled this inventiveness. My grandfather, a Navy-trained engineer, designed and built his family home, ran an egg business and worked in plastics at DuPont. He was a beekeeper, a skilled woodworker and a leather craftsman. His curiosity and hands-on experimentation showed me that learning can take many forms.

Studying metalsmithing, jewelry and computer-aided design (CAD) at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and later product design at Penn Engineering further ignited my passion for working at the intersection of functional art and technology — and showed me how design can serve as a catalyst for entrepreneurship.

Who can use the Engineering Studios @ Venture Lab? 

The Engineering Studios make design and prototyping resources available to the entire Penn community — not just engineers. Although the Studios are powered by Penn Engineering, our users come from nine different schools, from disciplines as diverse as law and veterinary medicine.

The only requirement to access our workspace and free laser cutting and 3D printing services is a 45-minute, in-person safety training. Once completed, members can use the space during our 70-plus weekly operating hours for both curricular and co-curricular projects.

What resources do the Engineering Studios provide?

Our facilities are equipped with state-of-the-art tools, including six Stratasys F120 fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printers, two Formlabs stereolithography (SLA) printers, three 60W CO2 Epilog laser cutters, and a 48” x 48” computer numerical control (CNC) router. We also provide access to sewing machines, a woodshop and hundreds of hand tools — the possibilities across these digital and analog fabrication tools is truly endless.

But perhaps the greatest resource we offer is our team of Studio Technicians — they monitor the workspace and run laser and 3D-printing jobs. Our Techs are mostly graduate students in the IPD, Robotics and MEAM programs and are subject-matter experts in design, fabrication and prototyping. Whether you want to create a custom shelf for your dorm or are developing a groundbreaking medical device, they can help you get started, even if this is your first time working with these tools.

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