Purdue theatre engineering: A one-of-a-kind learning opportunity

December 20, 2021 Jon Garcia

Issy Block loves live theatre and “making cool stuff.” Purdue is currently the only multidisciplinary engineering program to have earned accreditation from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology Inc. (ABET), offering a concentration in theatre engineering that allows her to engage both her artistic and technical interests.

Block and her fellow theatre engineers are able to speak an artist’s language while also injecting an engineer’s technical know-how and diligence into live entertainment. Those who can do both are rare — and increasingly valuable in an entertainment industry where technological advances frequently create new dilemmas to resolve.

Through its Fusion Studio for Entertainment and Engineering, which professors Rich Dionne and Mary Pilotte founded in 2020, Purdue aims to lead conversations at the intersection of art and technology. Fusion Studio connects those in academia with industry partners and working professionals to share best practices and other knowledge that can push the live entertainment business forward.

Learn more about Purdue’s Fusion Studio for Entertainment and Engineering.

Jon Garcia

As a teenager, Jon found his dad’s old 35-mm film camera and quickly developed a love of photography. He has been telling visual stories ever since.

Once he was old enough to drive, Jon started his own business as a wedding photographer. He continued to shoot still images as a student photographer at Indiana State University, where he majored in English and minored in communications and creative writing. ISU hired Jon as a staff photographer after graduation, and his role quickly evolved to include videography.

Purdue theatre engineering: A one-of-a-kind learning opportunity

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