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Mick Ebeling
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Mick Ebeling (born June 26, 1970)[1] is an American innovator, entrepreneur, author, speaker and philanthropist who focuses on developing technology that benefits humanity. Ebeling is the recipient of the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian of the Year Award[2] and was named as one of the Top 50 Most Creative People by Fortune Magazine, a Wired Agent of Change,[3] two time SXSW Innovation Award winner,[4] a two time Tribeca Disruptor Award winner,[5] and the only person to have three inventions recognized on Time magazine’s Best Inventions list – for the Eyewriter in 2010,[6] Bento in 2021,[7] and Music: Not Impossible in 2023.[8]
Key Information
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Ebeling is the founder and CEO of Not Impossible Labs,[9] a social tech incubator whose stated mission is to "create technology for the sake of humanity". Three companies have been spun off from the incubator: Bento, Music:Not Impossible, and Vibrohealth. Ebeling also founded the nonprofit organization The Not Impossible Foundation.[10]
Early life and education
[edit]Mick Ebeling is the son of Marge and Les Ebeling.[11][12] He was born in Long Beach, California, and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, where he attended Brophy College Preparatory. He went on to play basketball for the Air Force Academy, Colorado, before he transferred to University of California, Santa Barbara where he graduated in 1992 with a degree in political science.[13]
Career
[edit]Ebeling's first entertainment job was launching Venice Beach-based Fuel in 1995. Fuel was a motion design studio using Adobe After Effects software. Fuel was bought by Razorfish in July 1999. Ebeling went on to be the CEO of They. They was a cross-platform design company that worked with clients such as NASA. In 2001, he formed The Ebeling Group (TEG), a commercial and film production company that focuses on animation, design and visual effects.[14]
From 2006 to 2011, the company worked on the credits on Stranger Than Fiction (2006), Kite Runner (2007), Quantum of Solace (2008), the award-winning animation "Yes, Virginia" television special for CBS (2009)[15] and a series of short films with Marvel Studios called "One-Shots" (2011).[16]
Not Impossible Labs
[edit]Mick Ebeling founded Not Impossible Labs in 2011, a tech incubator and think tank whose philosophy revolves around identifying absurdities and developing solutions designed to end these absurdities with technology. Not Impossible Labs’ first project, and also the impetus for its foundation, was the EyeWriter. In April 2009, Ebeling flew five programmers and hackers from Graffiti Research Lab, Free Art and Technology Lab, and openFrameworks to Los Angeles and in the living room of his home created the EyeWriter, an open source, DIY device which enables individuals with paralysis to communicate and create art using only the movement of their eyes.[17]
The EyeWriter project was conceptualized and first created for Tempt One, a Los Angeles-based graffiti artist who was diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 2003.[18] Tempt One wrote his first piece of graffiti after seven years using the EyeWriter on April 10, 2009.[19][20] Time magazine called it one of the "50 Best Inventions of 2010",[6] and the device is now part of the permanent collection of New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).[21] Ebeling is also the executive producer of the documentary film Getting Up: The Tempt One Story, winner of the Audience Award at the 2011 Slamdance Film Festival.
Ebeling heard the story of Daniel, a boy from South Sudan who lost both arms during an explosion and, upon waking up, declared that he would rather be dead than not have arms so that he would be less of a burden for his family. Project Daniel was then born and Not Impossible Labs created a 3D-printable prosthetic arm. In November 2013, Ebeling flew to South Sudan. Of the project, Time's tech journalist Harry McCracken wrote, "it's hard to imagine any other device here doing more to make the world a better place."[22] Project Daniel has won a 2015 SXSW Interactive Innovation Award,[23] as well as being nominated for "Design of the Year" from London's Design Museum.[24] In 2014, it won the Titanium Cannes Lion[25] as well as Gold and Bronze Lions.[26] Project Daniel also won Association of Independent Commercial Producers' Next Cause Marketing Award,[27] Best in Show in the 2014 One Show,[28] Silver and Bronze Telly Awards,[citation needed] and the 2014 Maker Faire Editor's Choice Blue Ribbon.[29]
Additional projects focus on solving problems with technology. With Music: Not Impossible, the team created wearable technology that allows those who are deaf or hard of hearing to experience music through vibrations spread around their body.[30] Hunger: Not Impossible, now called Bento, is a simple text-based technology that connects people experiencing food insecurity to pre-paid meals. The initiative was thought of as a response to the COVID crisis.[31] Ebeling's first book, Not Impossible: The Art and Joy of Doing What Couldn't Be Done, was released by Simon & Schuster on January 6, 2015, and documents his work with Not Impossible Labs, focusing on the EyeWriter and Project Daniel.[32]
In 2014, Ebeling was featured as one of Intel's Innovators for their "Look Inside" Series.[33][needs update]
Personal life
[edit]Ebeling is married to Caskey Ebeling, an American filmmaker and screenwriter; they have three children.[34] Caskey is a partner of The Ebeling Group and co-founder of The Not Impossible Foundation.[35]
Awards
[edit]Wins
[edit]- Muhammad Ali Center Humanitarian of the Year[36]
- Fortune World's 50 Greatest Leaders[2]
- TIME Magazine 2010 Top Inventions of the Year[37]
- TIME Magazine 2021 Top Inventions of the Year[7]
- TIME Magazine 2023 Top Inventions of the Year[8]
- Wired Magazine’s Agents of Change[3]
- 2017 Tribeca’s Disruptive Innovation Awards Christensen Prize[38]
- 2019 Tribeca Disruptor Award[39]
- Curators Recognition and Next Cause Awards, from the Association of Independent Commercial Producers[40]
- No Barriers’ Summit Innovation Award[41]
- Burke Award Honoree, from Burke Rehabilitation Center[42]
- USA Network Top Ten Cultural Trailblazer[citation needed]
- iMedia Top 25 Marketing Leaders & Innovators[43]
- Advertising Age Creativity 50: Most Creative People[44]
- Gold Edison Award - Social Innovation[45]
- AICP (2010) The Next Awards Product Integration for Macy's "Yes, Virginia"[46]
- SKIP of New York Ruby Slipper Award[47]
- Cannes Lions Film Craft Silver Award and Titanium and Integrated Bronze Award for Macy's "Yes, Virginia"[48][25]
- Cannes Lions Bronze Lion in the Branded Content & Entertainment category, Gold Lion in the Product Design category, and Titanium Lion for Project Daniel sponsored by Precipart and Intel[49][26]
- Cannes Lions Bronze Lion in the Cyber and Film categories for Intel's “Look Inside™: Mick Ebeling” campaign[26]
- One Show Entertainment Gold Pencil Award, Branded Content Single Silver Award, and Silver Pencil Award for Macy's "Yes, Virginia"[50][51][52]
- Telly Award Silver Award for Social Responsibility and Bronze Award for Documentary for Project Daniel[53]
Nominations
[edit]- Grammy Award (2009) for Best Short Form Music Video for “Another Way to Die” by Jack White and Alicia Keys[54]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Chang, Andrea (April 25, 2014). "Great Read: With ingenuity and a 3-D printer, group changes lives". Los Angeles Times.
The 43-year-old graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in political science
- ^ a b "Mick Ebeling and Daniel Epstein". Fortune. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ a b "Engineering Creative Answers to Impossible Problemas". Wired. October 22, 2015.
- ^ "65 Finalists Announced for the 2017 Interactive Innovation Awards". SXSW. January 23, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ "Disruptor Awards". Disruptor Awards. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ a b Webley, Kayla (November 11, 2010). "The 50 Best Inventions of 2010 - TIME". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ a b "Bento: The 100 Best Inventions of 2021". Time. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ a b "Best Inventions of 2023: Music: Not Impossible". Time. October 24, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
- ^ "Not Impossible Labs". Not Impossible Labs.
- ^ "Mick Ebeling | Profile on". Ted.com. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
- ^ "The WellCare Foundation ~ Marge's Story". wellcarefoundation.org. Archived from the original on September 21, 2007.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 10, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Speakers & Performers". Archived from the original on November 5, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
- ^ "Business RX for your design company?". Death Fall. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
- ^ ""YES, VIRGINIA" Online Advert for Macy*s by JWT New York". Coloribus.com. January 2, 2010. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
- ^ "IMDb Pro : Mick Ebeling Business Details". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
- ^ Adam Frucci (August 25, 2009). "EyeWriter Lets You Draw and Write Using Only Your Eyes". Gizmodo.com. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
- ^ "Top 10 Most Important Inventions of the 21st Century in Medicine – Health & Fitness – InfoNIAC – Latest Inventions". InfoNIAC. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
- ^ "An Eye for Art: The Ebeling Group and Graffiti Research Lab Take on a Cause – Jeff Beer – Ad Critic News". Creativity Online. April 22, 2009. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
- ^ "Innovate this". The Irish Times. April 4, 2011.
- ^ "Zach Lieberman, James Powderly, Evan Roth, Chris Sugrue, TEMPT1, Theo Watson. EyeWriter. 2009 | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ McCracken, Harry (January 7, 2014). "How a TIME Article Led to the Invention of a $100 3D-Printed Artificial Limb". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ "SXSW 2015 names interactive innovation award winners". The Drum. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ "london design museum announces designs of the year 2015 nominees". designboom | architecture & design magazine. February 19, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ a b "Cannes Lions 2010 Winners Titanium and Integrated : Cannes Lions : Award Winning Ads, Festivals, Events". Coloribus.com. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
- ^ a b c "Not Impossible Earns Five Cannes Lions Including Cannes Titanium Lion Award". Business Wire. June 23, 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
- ^ "Mick Ebeling to Keynote TechKnowledge 2017". www.td.org. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ "The One Show | The One ClubOne Show | Awards Archive | 2014 | Best of Show | Design for the Greater Good". www.oneclub.org. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ Editors, Say Daily (May 21, 2014). "Not Impossible Now Wins Maker Faire Blue Ribbon". Say Daily. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ "Music Not Impossible". www.notimpossible.com. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ "Project: Hunger Not Impossible". www.notimpossible.com. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ Ebeling, Mick (September 7, 2021). Not Impossible. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-9821-8553-4.
- ^ "Intel Innovators Series". Intel.
- ^ "Ad Age's IDEA Conference". Advertising Age. November 12, 2009. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
- ^ "Vote for the Eyewriter @ Pepsi". Art Is Now. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
- ^ "Complete List of Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award Recipients and Presenters Announced – Includes A-List Celebrities". Muhammad Ali Center.
- ^ "Best Inventions of 2010: The EyeWriter". Time. November 11, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
- ^ "2017 Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Awards". Disruptor League. May 1, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ "2019 Honorees". Disruptor Awards. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ "2014 AICP Winners Announced | LBBOnline". www.lbbonline.com. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ "Not Impossible Earns Top Awards for Technologies Benefiting Humanity". Benzinga. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ "2015 Burke Awards". Burke Rehabilitation Hospital. July 1, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ "iMedia 25 – 2014 Marketing Leaders and Innovators". iMediaconnection.
- ^ "Creativity 50 2014: Mick Ebeling". Ad Age. December 29, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ "Edison Awards™ - Honoring the Best in Innovation and Innovators". edisonawards.com. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ "2010 AICP Next Awards Winners". Archived from the original on May 5, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
- ^ "Events – SKIP of New York". Skipofny.org. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
- ^ "Cannes Lions 2010 Winners Film Craft : Cannes Lions : Award Winning Ads, Festivals, Events". Coloribus.com. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
- ^ "Mick Ebeling wins even more than a Titanium Cannes Lion". The Stable. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
- ^ "The One Club / The One Show | One Show". Oneclub.org. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
- ^ "The One Club / The One Show | One Show". Oneclub.org. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
- ^ "One Show 2010 Winners Branded Content : One Show : Award Winning Ads, Festivals, Events". Coloribus.com. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
- ^ "Cannes Titanium Lion Winner Mick Ebeling Honored with Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award for Humanitarian of the Year". Shoot. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
- ^ Runtagh, Jordan. "Celebrity News & Gossip, Movies, Fashion & Style". VH1. Archived from the original on February 11, 2009. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
