Grant Imahara

Grant Masaru Imahara is an electronics and radio control expert, best known for his work on the American television show MythBusters.

After graduation, Imahara was hired as an engineer for Lucasfilm’s Home THX division; he then moved to the visual effects company Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), where he worked for nine years. While at ILM, he was involved in films such as The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Galaxy Quest, AI: Artificial Intelligence, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Van Helsing, and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Imahara is credited in many feature films as a model maker. In particular, he is credited for his work in updating the aging R2-D2 robots for the Star Wars prequel trilogy. As an official Artoo Technician, he makes a cameo appearance in the mockumentary R2-D2: Beneath the Dome.

Imahara joined MythBusters on the invitation of friend and occasional employer Jamie Hyneman and former ILM colleague Linda Wolkovitch, who is now an Associate Producer of MythBusters. He joined as the third member of the Build Team, replacing former MythBusters welder Scottie Chapman. His colleagues often, jokingly, refer to him as the geek of the Build Team. He often makes the robots that are needed for the show and otherwise specializes in operating the computers and electronics for the myths.

In addition to his role on MythBusters, he is known for his appearances on BattleBots, where he designed and competed with his robot Deadblow. He also had a cameo appearances on Syfy’s Eureka and the web series The Guild. Other well-known works include: designing the circuit that creates the rhythmic oscillation of the arms of the modern Energizer Bunny, leading Team ILM to victory in an appearance on Junkyard Mega-Wars, as well as authoring “Kickin’ Bot: An Illustrated Guide to Building Combat Robots”, considered to be a definitive reference in robot construction.

Imahara is set to play Lt. Masaru on the upcoming Star Trek Renegades.