Grant Imahara
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| Grant Imahara | |
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 Imahara in 2007 |
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| Born | October 23, 1970 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Grant Masaru Imahara (今原 真申 Imahara Masaru) (birth name) |
| Occupation | MythBusters (build team), Electronics and radio control expert |
| Website | |
| MYTHBUSTERS Bios Imahara's Myspace Imahara's Facebook Imahara's Twitter |
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Grant Masaru Imahara (born October 23, 1970)[1] is a Japanese American electronics and radio control expert, best known for his work on the American television show MythBusters.
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[edit] Education and early work
Imahara is a graduate of the University of Southern California, with a B.S. degree in electrical engineering. For a time, he seriously considered switching majors, with the intention of becoming a screenwriter; he decided to stay on the engineering track after assisting Tomlinson Holman,[2] a professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and creator of the Lucasfilm THX sound system.
After graduation, Imahara was hired as an engineer for Lucasfilm's Home THX division; he then moved to the visual effects company Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), where he worked for nine years. While at ILM, he was involved in films such as The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Galaxy Quest, AI: Artificial Intelligence, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Van Helsing, and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
Imahara is credited in many feature films as a model maker. In particular, he is credited for his work in updating the aging R2-D2 robots for the Star Wars prequel trilogy.[3] As an official Artoo Technician, he makes a cameo appearance in the mockumentary R2-D2: Beneath the Dome.[4]
[edit] MythBusters
Imahara eventually joined MythBusters, on the invitation of friend and occasional employer Jamie Hyneman[5] and former ILM colleague Linda Wolkovitch, who is now an Associate Producer of MythBusters. He joined as the third member of the Build Team, replacing former MythBusters welder Scottie Chapman. His colleagues often, jokingly, refer to him as the geek of the Build Team. He often makes the robots that are needed for the show and otherwise specializes in operating the computers and electronics for the myths.
[edit] Other work
In addition to his role on MythBusters, he is known for his appearances on BattleBots, where he designed and competed with his robot Deadblow. He also had a cameo appearance on the web series The Guild. Other well-known works include: designing the circuit that creates the rhythmic oscillation of the arms of the modern Energizer Bunny;[3] leading Team ILM to victory in an appearance on Junkyard Mega-Wars; as well as authoring Kickin' Bot: An Illustrated Guide to Building Combat Robots (ISBN 0-7645-4113-7), considered to be a definitive reference in robot construction.[3]
Imahara was a cast member, and story writer, for the short film Architects of Evil, created for the 2004 Industrial Light and Magic Backyard Film Contest.[6] He mentors the Richmond High robotics team Biomechs #841 (Richmond Ca.) for the FIRST Robotics Competition, lending his expert guidance on how to create the right robot for the right job.[7] Imahara was profiled in the magazine IEEE Spectrum, in an issue focusing on engineering dream jobs. The article was titled "Grant Imahara: Debunker in The Box.";[8] he is shown in a fire resistant suit on the cover.
One of Imahara's independent projects, during early 2010, was constructing a robotic sidekick for Craig Ferguson, host of The Late Late Show.[9] The robot, named Geoff Peterson, was unveiled on the April 5, 2010 Late Late Show episode.
[edit] References
- ^ Date information sourced from Library of Congress Authorities data, via corresponding WorldCat Identities linked authority file (LAF) .
- ^ Mammy, Joe (May 27, 2007). "Have Soldering Gun, Will Travel". Joe-Mammy.com. http://joe-mammy.com/pages/features/grant-imahara/grant-imahara.htm. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
- ^ a b c Imahara, Grant (March 5, 2006). "Grant Imahara Biography". MythBusters Fan Club. http://www.mythbustersfanclub.com/mb2/content/view/101/. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
- ^ "Beneath The Dome - Credits". StarWars.com. Lucasfilm. Archived from the original on June 24, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080624031930/www.starwars.com/episode-ii/explore/dome/5.html.
- ^ Thomas, Christian M. (March 29, 2008). "'Mythbuster' Grant Imahara gives Northeast State audience lowdown on popular show". timesnews.net. http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9005739. Retrieved 4 July 2009.
- ^ "ILM - Architects of Evil". Fan Films. TheForce.Net. April 2004. http://www.theforce.net/fanfilms/shortfilms/ilm-agents/index.asp. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
- ^ Richmond High School Robotics Team
- ^ Svoboda, Elizabeth (February 2006). "Grant Imahara: Debunker in The Box". Spectrum. IEEE. http://spectrum.ieee.org/feb06/2828. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
- ^ Hibberd, James (March 1, 2010). "Mythbuster: I can build Ferguson a robot sidekick". The Live Feed. http://livefeed.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/03/mythbusters-well-build-ferguson-a-robot-sidekick.html. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
[edit] External links
- Architects of Evil Trailer on TheForce.Net Fan Films
- Grant Imahara's autobiography on MBFC
- Grant Imahara's biography from the Discovery Channel
- Grant Imahara: Debunker in The Box
- Grant Imahara at the Internet Movie Database
- Grant Imahara on Myspace
- Grant Imahara on Twitter
- AArisings A-Profiler Interview Published March 17, 2007
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