As director of the Pittsburgh campus of Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center (ETC), one of Drew Davidson’s job functions is finding funding for the grad projects of the college’s students. The Grable Foundation is one of the sources Davidson receives support from. It was through this connection that Davidson met Greg Behr and was introduced to the Kids+Creativity Network. Behr helped connect Davidson with the executive director of Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, Jane Werner. Together they secured a grant from the MacArthur Foundation to create an idea they had developed, the Makeshop, a highly facilitated permanent space in the museum that allows children to build things using electronics, sewing machines, and woodworking and metalworking tools. The Makeshop allows children to figure out how things work while learning new techniques and skills.

At the ETC, Drew Davidson is dedicated to teaching and research that pushes the limits of interactive media. He has been a judge at The Independent Games Festival and Indiecade, two festivals dedicated to recognizing and promoting excellence in independent game design. Davidson helped to create Sandbox Symposium, an ACM SIGGRAPH conference on innovations in video game theory and practice. Davidson also runs ETC Press, an open source publishing imprint, and is recognized for his writing analyzing gameplay and narratives across media.

Drew is a member of the Remake Learning Council.