Meet an Innovative IIT Student: Dane Christianson, Mechanical Engineering 2nd year

Dane Christianson is an inventor at heart. He designed—and then constructed—a three-dimensional twisty-puzzle he calls the X-Cube in IIT’s Idea Shop using a 3D printer. A video of Dane solving the puzzle received more than 1.6 million views in its first month on YouTube.

“The Idea Shop is just fantastic,” says Christianson. “When I found out that there is a work space at IIT devoted to creation, I was blown away.”

Although Christianson already has a new puzzle designed, he is looking at inventing his future in broader strokes. He says that while his X-Cube is a “cool first invention,” he could see himself inventing equipment to develop new alternative-power sources or advance medical robotics.