Christina Ernst
American engineer and social media creator
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Christina Ernst is an American engineer and social media content creator known for her work in "fashioneering," a portmanteau for the integration of fashion and engineering.[1] Ernst has received media coverage for her viral wearable technology projects and her educational initiative She Builds Robots.[2] She was a recurring guest on Season 6 of the CBS WKND television show Mission Unstoppable.[3]
Christina Ernst | |
|---|---|
Ernst in 2025 | |
| Instagram information | |
| Page | |
| Years active | 2022–present |
| Genre | Engineering |
| Followers | 495 thousand (29 June 2025) |
| Website | www |
Education
Ernst attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she was the recipient of the Alwan Engineering Scholarship.[4] She graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering.[5]
At a 2017 college hackathon, she created a Bluetooth-controlled, color-changing dress.[6] Ernst was struck by the enthusiastic response from young women and girls who approached her, expressing a desire to learn to code specifically to create similar projects.[6] Following the event, she received a grant which provided the seed funding for what would become her educational initiative She Builds Robots.[1]
Career
Maker-in-Residency
In the fall of 2024, Ernst served as the Maker-in-Residence at the Chicago Public Library Maker Lab, located in Harold Washington Library.[7] During her residency, she taught free public workshops on coding, circuits, and motor control.[8] Her final project for the residency was a motorized dress inspired by Jackson Park’s Garden of the Phoenix, which was put on public display at the library.[6]
Science communication
In October 2024, Ernst posted a video of one of her engineering projects, a motorized character from the film Ratatouille. The video went viral and was covered in publications such as Popular Science,[2] The CBC,[9][10] Entertainment Weekly,[11] and CNN.[1]
In late 2024 and early 2025, Ernst had a recurring role on Season 6 of Mission Unstoppable, a STEM-focused educational television show on CBS hosted by Miranda Cosgrove.[2][3][12]
In April 2025, Ernst was a keynote speaker for the Women In Tech Sweden conference, where she emphasized the shared themes between textiles and computing.[13][14]
