Maker

Mark Randall Havens is first and foremost, a Maker. He is someone who gets things done. Whether it’s designing and building an early drone prototype from spare parts or establishing the first makerspace in Dallas, he sees the world as a giant playground, full of possibilities and potential, just waiting to be explored and harnessed. For Havens, there’s no such thing as impossible; if you can dream it, you can make it. This attitude has led him to accomplish some pretty impressive feats. It’s also what drives him to keep learning new skills and expanding his knowledge base; after all, you never know when those skills might come in handy. For Havens, being a Maker is about more than just building things; it’s a lifestyle, an approach to the world that is all about creativity, resourcefulness, and a willingness to take risks.

In 2010, Havens was the first Maker in Dallas to establish and develop special interest groups in 3D printing and aerospace. This was years before these technologies became trends. His experience with technology and ability to spot emerging trends has made him a valuable asset to the Maker community. As a result of his work, Havens helped to inspire many 3D printing and aerospace innovators in Dallas. In addition, Havens has inspired others to experiment with new technologies and bring their own innovative ideas to the community. Thanks to his vision, Havens has helped establish Dallas is at the forefront of the Maker movement and is poised to lead the way in the development of new technologies.

In 2012, Havens began to branch out his interests to include biotech applications in agriculture, aquaculture, and aquaponics. He had a keen interest in the potential of these biotechnologies to improve food production and help conserve natural resources. In addition, he was attracted to the challenge of working with living systems and finding ways to optimize their performance. As he explored these different areas, he developed a fundamental understanding of the biology, chemistry, and physics involved in each. This enabled him to see how these disciplines could be integrated to create more efficient and effective systems. He has always aspired that work in this field could lead to many important advances in food production and resource conservation.

In 2016, Havens developed interests in computer vision, artificial intelligence, and computational psychology while he was a graduate student at the University of Texas at Arlington. He pursued these interests by conducting research projects in each field. His research in computer vision focused on developing algorithms for face recognition. In artificial intelligence, he worked on developing methods for classifying human emotional responses. In computational psychology, he investigated how people interact with one another nonverbally in order to respond and make decisions. These interests led him to pursue an emerging field in affective computing.

In 2020, his interests broadened to include video and music production. Havens had always been interested in music production since high school, but it was not until he began learning modern video production software that he realized how much he enjoyed the creative process of blending sound and image creation. His ambitions don’t expand beyond informational videos on social media but claims that one day, he may work on a feature-length film. In addition to video and music production, he is also interested in photography and graphic design. He hopes to continue pursuing and developing each of these interests in the future.

Entrepreneur

Mark Havens is a lifelong entrepreneur that is always starting something new. While he sometimes works alone in order to prioritize his family life, he often builds teams and organizations when inspired by an idea that might create a positive impact on people’s lives.

Havens founded Dallas Makerspace in 2010, the first makerspace in Dallas.

Over the years, Dallas Makerspace has distinguished itself as the largest all-volunteer-run makerspace in the world. As the one that designed and developed this unique organization’s business model and all-volunteer organizational structure, Havens has remained extremely proud to be a part of the Maker Movement, often writing about his perspective on the successes and failures of the organization (as well as the volunteers who became a part of his journey). He continues to make Dallas Makerspace and the Maker Movement a big part of his life in any way that he can.

Havens also founded Dallas Maker Community, a nonprofit that encourages, promotes, and safeguards makerspaces in North Texas which provide a public benefit. As a result of his experience developing Dallas Makerspace over the years, Havens is actively applying the lessons learned he learned to help, teach, and mentor other leaders within the Maker Movement.

Engineer

Mark Havens had a long and rewarding career designing data centers and cloud infrastructure but has since retired in order to devote his time to more entrepreneurial and philanthropic pursuits. He continues to find himself returning to some of the more esoteric and nostalgic topics in systems administration for the love of it and still writes on such topics. He spent much of his career working with software development teams, leading people and developing practices, and processes that later became known as DevOps, long before the term existed. He and his people have been responsible for the design of some notable internet infrastructure, including a distributed platform for the first iPhone billing system at AT&T.

Extensive experience in the telecommunications and IT industries has given Havens a unique perspective on the latest trends in technology. He is able to apply his insights in many creative ways and often gives away his ideas to people in his community in the hope that it makes the world a better place. His experience in the industry also allows him to provide practical advice on how to implement these technologies in a way that is efficient and effective.

Scientist

Mark Havens is a classically trained academic researcher in computer science with over two decades of industry experience. He has conducted highly detailed technical research on DevOps, AI, IoT, InfoSec, and other emerging trends as part of his Ph.D. fellowship. He often studies softer sciences like management science, game theory, and psychology. As a tech entrepreneur that knows how to make stuff work, he has done business with startups of all types, using every major programming language, platform, and operating system out there.

In 2016, The University of Texas at Arlington awarded him a prestigious Ph.D. fellowship grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education. While working as a computer scientist and research psychologist for NASA and the U.S. Air, he sought ways to use computing to explore human emotion and how humans interact with other humans in nonverbal ways.

Havens always keeps at least one foot in academia, giving him a unique perspective on the latest trends in technology. He is able to apply his insights in many creative ways and often gives away his ideas to people in his community in the hope that it makes the world a better place. His experience in the industry also allows him to provide practical advice on how to implement these technologies in a way that is efficient and effective.

Professor

As a professor of software engineering and assembly language programming, Havens is always exploring new ways to engage his students and foster a love of learning in the classroom. He is constantly looking for ways to improve his teaching methods, and he is always willing to experiment with new technologies and instructional approaches. As a result, his students are able to benefit from his wealth of knowledge and experience. In addition, Havens is always available to answer questions and provide guidance outside of class. As a result, his students are able to get the most out of their education and develop into well-rounded professionals.

Writer

Havens is a versatile writer, with stories in genres including science fiction, fantasy, and horror. He is drawn to these genres for their potential to explore alternate worlds and different ways of solving problems. In particular, he is interested in how people interact with each other in different societies. Through his writing, he hopes to change people’s perceptions of the world and encourage them to think critically about the society they live in. He believes that through exposure to new ideas, people can become more open-minded and tolerant of others. In addition, he believes that by understanding different cultures and perspectives, people can develop a greater appreciation for the richness of the world around them. Thus, through his writing, Havens hopes to make a positive impact on the way people see the world.

Photographer

Havens has always had an interest in photography, but he found himself acquiring a basic competency in the art only as it became necessary to support his writing. As a Maker, he loves to learn new skills. In addition to photography, Havens is also competent in videography, web design, and graphic design. He has used these skills to further develop his marketing skills for use in entrepreneurship. As someone who is constantly exploring new ways to create and share content, Havens is always on the lookout for tools and technologies that can help him do more with less.

Blogger

Havens writes on a variety of topics. He has amassed a large backlog of content, and he is working to publish this content in a timely manner. Some of his content is posted in blog form, and he is also working on several e-books. In addition, Havens is an aspiring speaker and hopes to become a prolific speaker at conferences. However, despite his ambitions, Havens has faced some challenges. In particular, he has always struggled to find time to integrate writing into each of his many passions. Regardless, he makes the time to write nearly every day.

Reporter

As a freelance reporter, Havens is always on the lookout for interesting stories to share with his audience. Whether it’s a local event or a national story, he enjoys bringing newsworthy items to light. While he is new to the field of reporting, he finds great satisfaction in being able to inform others about what is happening in the world. He believes that it is important for everyone to be informed about current events, and he is proud to be able to play a role in providing people with the information they need. In addition to the satisfaction he gets from reporting, Havens also enjoys the challenge of finding new and interesting stories to share. He loves being able to research and discover new topics, and he looks forward to continued success in his career as a reporter.

Father

Parenting is hard work, there are no two ways about it. But when you have the amazing bonding experiences that come with being a parent, it makes all the challenges worth it. For Havens, his children are his everything. He loves them deeply and works hard to include them in whatever he’s doing, whether it’s work or play. It’s important to him that they have good role models in their lives, and he knows that he can be that for them. He wants them to learn from him and grow up to be happy and successful people. While parenting is certainly a difficult job, it’s also an incredibly rewarding one. And this father wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.