Jan Baum is ArMel Scientifics Center for Technology & Public Policy Research Associate in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) Education. The Executive Director of 3D Maryland, an initiative aimed at bringing business, industry, entrepreneurs and technology researchers together to promote innovative economic growth, she is also a Professor in the Department of Art and Design, Art History and Art Education at Towson University. A practicing artist/designer and technology innovator, Professor Baum is renowned for her leading-edge work in the intersection and fusion of computer technology, art and design to create new models for education, entrepreneurship and manufacturing. She founded and directs Towson’s Object Lab, a 3D printing research and education center focusing on the development of new digital and rapid manufacturing techniques across multiple industries.
Professor Baum has addressed the US House of Representatives Committee on Small Business as an expert on the economic implications of 3D innovation. She makes her expertise in this field available to entrepreneurs, chambers of commerce, conferences and educational institutions to help them use 3D technology in ways that are both culturally and economically enriching. Her interdisciplinary innovation achievements have earned her a number of honors including The Daily Record Innovators of the Year 2014 and the Influential Marylanders 2014 awards. A master metalsmith and goldsmith, she has served on the governing committees of Metalsmith magazine, the executive committee of the Society of North American Goldsmiths, and numerous academic committees. Her art has been exhibited internationally and is represented in the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Permanent Collection. She has degrees from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Arcadia University, Pennsylvania.