Jay Saul Silver is an electrical engineer and toy inventor from
Cocoa Beach, Florida. Silver is the Founder and CEO of
JoyLabz and
MaKey MaKey and was the first-ever Maker Research Scientist at
Intel.[1]
Academic background and early career
Silver earned his BA in electrical engineering from
Georgia Tech,[2] where he was named Engineer of the Year,[3] and was awarded a
Gates Scholarship[4] to pursue his Master's from
Cambridge University in Internet Technology.[5] Funded by a
National Science Foundation Fellowship,[6] Silver earned a Master's from MIT's
Media Lab,[7] and went on to earn his PhD from
MIT's Media Lab Lifelong Kindergarten.[8] For his PhD on the topic of “World as Construction Kit,” Silver was awarded the Lemelson Prize for Inventiveness[9]
Following his academic career, Silver invented
Drawdio,[10] which was named one of
TIME Magazine's “Top 15 Toys for Young Geniuses” in 2011.[11]
Makey Makey
In 2012, Silver founded
Makey Makey: An Invention Kit for Everyone – a toy that allows users to connect everyday objects (e.g. fruit, silverware) to computer programs – through a
Kickstarter campaign that raised over $500,000.[12] Following its initial funding on Kickstarter, MaKey Makey was written about in
Mashable,
Wired, and
New Scientist, among others, and was named one of
Popular Science's 2014 “Best of Toy Fair.”[13]
Charitable works and boards
Silver sits on the board of directors of Maker Ed,[14] One Day on Earth, and the Transformative Tech Lab. Silver also works with teens at places like Not Back to School Camp.
Awards and speakerships
(2011), TIME Magazine's “Top 15 Toys for Young Geniuses” for Drawdio