Products evolve. Business plans change. And startups pivot. In the end, the people behind an endeavor shape its destiny far more than its current heading. As our team embarks on this exciting journey together, we are excited to leverage our unique strengths, shared values, and common drive to do something exceptional with LoomVue. We’re also anxious to give our early adopters a window into the team and what drives us. Indeed, we see you as a critical extension of our team and hope our relationship will flourish in the years to come. As our vision for transforming language learning unfolds, there is no doubt it will be guided and shaped by your feedback, inspiration, and support.
Grant Rowberry, CEO
Grant Rowberry is the CEO of LoomVue. He is a compulsive entrepreneur, Crocker Innovation Fellow, and Computer Engineering graduate from Brigham Young University (BYU). His technical expertise ranges from web development to data scientist to hardware engineer. Grant is fluent in Spanish, which he learned while living in Santa Ana, El Salvador for two years. Grant’s colleagues describe him as a visionary with plans to change the world for the better and the technical aptitude to pick up any skills needed along the way. In his spare time you may find him watching Steinfeld, gardening and cooking with his wife, or playing basketball with friends. Grant brings a strong sense of integrity to LoomVue with a mandate to responsibly deliver on promises to each other, our clients, and partners.
David Wingate, Chief Technology Officer
David Wingate, PhD, is the Chief Technology Officer of LoomVue and Assistant Professor of Computer Science at BYU. He landed in Provo, Utah after receiving his Computer Science PhD from the University of Michigan, performing machine learning research at MIT for 4 years, and serving as CTO and technical expert for several startups. The NSF has sponsored his work with over $2 million in grant funding to help invent the next generation of deep reinforcement learning techniques and soft robots. He is fluent in Spanish, which he learned living in Montreal, and is proficient in French. David’s colleagues describe him as a technical genius that makes the impossible seem routine, all with a smile on his face. In his spare time he enjoys trying as many different types of chips and salsa as possible — his ultimate goal is to analyze their chemical composition, apply the tools of machine learning, and design the perfect salsa.
Derek Hansen, Chief Scientist
Derek Hansen, PhD, is the Chief Scientist of LoomVue and Professor of IT & Cybersecurity at BYU. He has studied the understanding the interplay between people and technology as a PhD student of Information at the University of Michigan, faculty member at the University of Maryland’s iSchool and Human-Computer Interaction Lab, and BYU where he helped kick off the Design Thinking minor and User Experience Design club. His wife chides him for having too much fun at work making immersive educational simulations and games. The NSF has given him over $2 million to design and evaluate novel educational experiences for K-12 and college age student. Derek is fluent in Russian after spending 2 years in Siberia, Russia. Derek’s colleagues describe him as a creative pragmatist with a penchant for designing technologies that motivate and inspire. His greatest enjoyments in life come from playing Ultimate Frisbee, hiking, and discussing Brandon Sanderson books with his wife and 5 children. Derek brings a strong sense of empathy for our users and a desire to help them achieve their language learning goals in a fun and seamless way.
