"Grow your engineering mindset and use your unique world view to look at problems in ways that no one else can." -Ray Scanlon
As a junior majoring in electrical and computer engineering, Ray Scanlon turned his team's winning submission to the Walt Disney Imagineering Imaginations Design Competition for college students into an internship and eventual career. As a senior R&D manager at Walt Disney Imagineering, he contributes to projects as a creative technologist and as a project lead. In 2025, he was the recipient of the prestigious Walt Disney Legacy Award. He is still actively involved in the internship and mentoring programs that gave him his start.
Why Rutgers?
I knew in high school that I wanted to major in ECE, and Rutgers seemed like the perfect match. If I'm not mistaken, Rutgers SoE was the only college I applied to.
What led you to enter the Walt Disney Imagineering Design Competition?
I credit it to my friend, roommate, and winning teammate Vinny Logozio, who'd wanted to participate in the competition since high school. He has also enjoyed a successful career in themed entertainment.
What do you most value about your SoE education?
The biggest takeaway is learning how to learn. It might sound redundant or obvious, but it's a core part of doing research and development.
Technology has changed significantly in the 15 years since I graduated, but the foundational engineering knowledge I gained in school is just as relevant today.
I've used two specific things heavily in my career. First is the elective computer science course, Principles of Programming Languages. Second, I did my capstone project on involving computer vision with ECE professor Kristin Dana. Today, if I'm working on a project involving computer graphics, camera tracking, AR, VR, or anything related, I can often connect some piece of it back to those studies.
What do you most enjoy about your job?
The most exciting part is how we use technology as a tool to tell stories. I really enjoy working with artists, performers, designers, and other engineers to build the latest tech advancements into new Disney experiences. It is extremely rewarding when we get to see guests having fun and enjoying what we create.
What are some of your recent Imagineering innovations?
Over the past year, Imagineering R&D has been deploying and play-testing our Robotic Character Platform. Some members of my team have been instrumental in bringing experiences with BDX Droids, H.E.R.B.I.E., and Olaf to guests around the globe. It was a lot of fun seeing the surprise and delight these characters bring everywhere they go.
What are you most proud of having brought to fruition at Disney?
A lot of the work I've done has been developing and testing early prototypes, proving the ideas and technologies that have been brought up and incorporated into larger projects. A core focus for me has been developing new character experiences.
Early in my career, I was part of the team that invented the technology used to create many of the characters guests can meet today, including those roaming around Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and other lands across Disney Parks and Cruise Line.
What are you imagining for the future?
There's a lot to be excited about. Personally, I'm most interested in bringing characters to life in new and exciting ways, as well as continuing to enhance immersion, so it truly feels like we are stepping into the worlds of the stories we see on the screen. With the latest technologies, I think we're finding more ways than ever to do this.
What does your Walt Disney Legacy Award mean to you?
Recipients are nominated and selected by recipient peers. To me, this award is an amazing acknowledgment from all the creative and talented people I get to work with about how we collaborate, work, and, of course, have some fun together.
What advice do you have for SoE students?
Bring your perspective and passions into engineering. Starting out in engineering, you may feel it's difficult to contribute. But because your perspective on the world is unique, you always have something meaningful to bring to the table. Grow your engineering mindset and use your unique world view to look at problems in ways that no one else can.
You have a fun job. What did you do for fun as a student?
We really enjoyed staying up too late to play board and video games. We actually had two old heavy CRT TVs just for that purpose.
What do you do for fun these days?
I have to say not much has changed! I have even more board games now and have occasionally attended some of the board game conventions around the country.
If you could go on vacation tomorrow, where would you go?
I try to focus on places I haven't been to before. I haven't been to Africa yet, so right at this moment, I think Morocco would make for a very interesting trip.
