Christina Ernst

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Christina Ernst
Christina Ernst.jpg
Ernst in 2025
Website www.shebuildsrobots.org
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Years active2022–present
GenreEngineering
Followers495 thousand
Updated: 29 June 2025

Christina Ernst is an American engineer and social media content creator known for her work in "fashioneering," a portmanteau for the integration of fashion and engineering. [1] Ernst has received media coverage for her viral wearable technology projects and her educational initiative She Builds Robots. [2] She was a recurring guest on Season 6 of the CBS WKND television show Mission Unstoppable. [3]

Contents

Education

Ernst attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she was the recipient of the Alwan Engineering Scholarship. [4] She graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering. [5]

At a 2017 college hackathon, she created a Bluetooth-controlled, color-changing dress. [6] Ernst was struck by the enthusiastic response from young women and girls who approached her, expressing a desire to learn to code specifically to create similar projects. [6] Following the event, she received a grant which provided the seed funding for what would become her educational initiative She Builds Robots. [1]

Career

Maker-in-Residency

In the fall of 2024, Ernst served as the Maker-in-Residence at the Chicago Public Library Maker Lab, located in Harold Washington Library. [7] During her residency, she taught free public workshops on coding, circuits, and motor control. [8] Her final project for the residency was a motorized dress inspired by Jackson Park’s Garden of the Phoenix, which was put on public display at the library. [6]

Science communication

In October 2024, Ernst posted a video of one of her engineering projects, a motorized character from the film Ratatouille. The video went viral and was covered in publications such as Popular Science, [2] The CBC, [9] [10] Entertainment Weekly, [11] and CNN. [1]

In late 2024 and early 2025, Ernst had a recurring role on Season 6 of Mission Unstoppable, a STEM-focused educational television show on CBS hosted by Miranda Cosgrove. [2] [3] [12]

In April 2025, Ernst was a keynote speaker for the Women In Tech Sweden conference, where she emphasized the shared themes between textiles and computing. [13] [14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Palumbo, Jacqui (2025-05-21). "Feats of fantasy: This software engineer codes self-twirling and illuminating gowns". CNN. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  2. 1 2 3 Alt, Eric (2024-10-19). "Meet the engineer who crafted a genius animatronic 'Ratatouille' Halloween costume". Popular Science. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  3. 1 2 "Mission Unstoppable with Miranda Cosgrove". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  4. ↑ Communications, Grainger Engineering Office of Marketing and. "Alwan Engineering Scholarship". ece.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  5. ↑ Communications, Grainger Engineering Office of Marketing and. "Christina Ernst". ece.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  6. 1 2 3 Cerda, Marissa De La (2024-12-09). "Meet the Maker: Christina Ernst". Chicago Public Library Foundation. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  7. ↑ "Meet the 2024 Makers-in-Residence". www.chipublib.org. 2024-04-12. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  8. ↑ "Crafting with Code: Write Code to Control a Noisemaker and Motor by Chicago Public Library". My Chi. My Future. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  9. ↑ CBC News: The National (2024-10-16). #TheMoment an engineer built a robot Remy from Ratatouille . Retrieved 2025-06-28– via YouTube.
  10. ↑ Drost, Philip (2024-10-15). "This engineer built a functioning Remy from Ratatouille". CBC. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  11. ↑ "Patton Oswalt reacts to spot-on 'Ratatouille' Halloween costume featuring motorized Remy". EW.com. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  12. ↑ "Christina Ernst | Producer". IMDb. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  13. ↑ "Christina Ernst". Women In Tech Sweden (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  14. ↑ "New Threads: Tech Education through Fashion". Women In Tech Sweden (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-06-28.
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