JD Pirtle is an artist and educator interested in computational, generative and algorithmic processes–particularly those that utilize or produce open-source software. He is currently the Director of Innovation at Catherine Cook School in Chicago, teaching programming, electronics, robotics and rapid prototyping for expression and inquiry. Pirtle founded and now directs the school’s IDEA (Innovation, Design, Engineering, and Art) program, a cross-divisional initiative facilitating creative exploration in the domains of curiosity, investigation, design and creation. He also co-founded the IDEA:TE Conference and Processing Chicago. Before joining Catherine Cook, JD worked as an artist and researcher at the Electronic Visualization Lab at University of Illinois-Chicago. He received his BFA from the University of Washington’s Center for Digital Arts and Experimental Media, and MFA in Electronic Visualization/New Media Arts from the School of Art and Design at University of Illinois-Chicago.