Dana R Martens

PORTFOLIO | LINKEDIN

• Dana Martens is a designer, creative technologist, maker, teacher, student and geek creating factual alternatives through technology.
  
  Dana came to Parsons to connect her dual passions for studying and building emerging technologies, and designing projects that connect people to realize more sustainable and equitable futures.Dana hopes to leverage new technology to develop unique and unexpected solutions to the tough challenges we face. 
  
  Previously, she worked as a Policy Associate at The New York Academy of Medicine, where she developed policy and supported a portfolio of work at the intersection of aging, business, entrepreneurship, and technology. Dana also worked worked for The New York City Department of Small Business Service’s NYC Business Solutions center where she coached aspiring entrepreneurs to start, operate, and expand their businesses and taught classes on business development and technology. 
  
  Dana holds a bachelor of arts cum laude in Economics from Smith College and Master of Fine Arts Design + Technology at Parsons School for Design.

UNUM | THE BLOCKCHAIN FOR DISTRIBUTED 

• • Today, few people know where, when, or how their products were made. Complex global manufacturing networks are black boxes, concealing their true environmental and economic impact.

    But change is on the horizon.

    As the Internet did for digital information, design and fabrication tools have begun to redefine how we fund, design, produce and exchange physical products. The resulting Maker Movement is laying the foundation for a new, more distributed model for manufacturing.

    We have the tools, now where do we go?

    Unum is a proof-of-concept platform that connects designers, makers, and customers in trusted peer-to-peer relationships, supporting local on-demand production. To do this, Unum uses the blockchain protocol to manage information, payment, and intellectual property, creating an online manufacturing thread for every physical product fabricated from a digital design.

    Unum | The future is already here, now let’s distribute it.