John Zehren | Fab Lab Coordinator
Gateway Technical College

John Zehren graduated U. W. Parkside in 1987, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Art. He moved to Chicago in 1989 where he pursued work as a Studio Artist. In addition to art he worked as an Aesthetician for Private Clients, Galleries and Museums, and also worked as a Gallery Director. From 1997 to 2015 he worked for The Field Museum, where he ran The Exhibitions Production Shop for fifteen years. John has had background studies in Math and Physics, and maintains a career as an artist, showing sculpture and painting. John was nominated for a Smithsonian arts Fellowship in 2012. John has experience public speaking, including “Worker Safety” at an International Museum Conference in Ho-Chi Mihn City in 2010, multiple conferences on the conservation case building techniques he developed at Field Museum, for American Institute of Conservators in Miami, Drexel University in Philadelphia in 2015, and Conservation and Exhibition Process at The Smithsonian American Art Museum in 2015. Since March of 2016, he has run the Industrial Design Fab Lab for Gateway Technical College at the S.C. Johnson iMET Center on the Sturtevant Campus, establishing Lab development protocols, workshops, curriculum, educational outreach. John worked eight years as a Field Technician for ShopBot Tools Inc, and currently works independently, as Conservation Fabrication Consultant, and as an Educational Trainer for STEM 101. You can find him on Linkedin, Facebook and even Tik Tok as “johnthefablabguy” or just visit his website at johnzehren.com