Grant Imahara is known to makers, science enthusiasts, and pop culture fans alike. He has inspired many young people to get involved in making and pursue STEAM jobs. We are saddened by his passing and wish to remember his contributions to the Maker Movement.
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Mythbuster
Best known for his time on Mythbusters, Grant Imahara, created robots and other electrical creations required for testing myths for the show. Before Mythbusters he worked for Industrial Light and Magic, where he met future co-hosts Adam Savage and Tory Belleci. He joined Mythbuster in season 3 (2005) and stayed til the eventual end of the show 10 years later. Grant appeared in over 200 episodes of Mythbusters. In 2016 Grant went on to be a part of the White Rabbit Project, a spin off of Mythbusters, that explored topics in science, history, and interesting events.
#Famous Creations
Many of Grant's creations and work are a part of main stream culture. He designed and made Geoff Peterson for the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Worked on and created for big movies like Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. He was even one of few people to be able to operate the real R2-D2 droid.
#Robot Creator
Another famous robot he worked on was the Energizer Bunny. Grant worked on a team of people and eventually became the lead controller. He teamed up with Tory and Adam again to make his own robot called Deathblow for the show Battle-bots. He competed from 1999 to 2002 and even was a judge for the show in 2018. Grant also created robots in his own personal time like the spider robot in the video below. His talents can also be seen in the Disney parks, where he worked with Disney Imagineering to create robots for their rides and attractions.
#Sharing his Talents
Grant went on to share his know how to youth through the mentoring robotics team students at Richmond High School in California. He had a book published called Kickin' Bot: An Illustrated Guide to Building Combat Robots, that gave readers advice and instructions on how to build their own robots for competition. This year Grant had created his own robotic version of "baby Yoda" to take to hospitals and other charity events.
