From a young age, Jonah Halperin loved building and creating. It came out in basement projects: model rockets, pinewood derby cars, a homemade zipline. And it was what led him to his major at Yale, in mechanical engineering, and his plans to go into aerospace engineering after graduation.
His creative drive also propelled him to an earlier career - as a Broadway actor.
At four, Halperin started in his local theater and at five took part in a showcase for young actors in New York City. (He told jokes: "What do you call a penguin in the desert? Lost!") He went on to play roles in the original cast of "Kinky Boots" (which won a Tony in its debut year) and "Doctor Zhivago," and in the Broadway production of "Matilda."
Acting required commitment - months away from school for rehearsals, and then traveling from his hometown of Chappaqua, about 30 miles from New York City, to Manhattan for eight performances a week. Yet Halperin still found time to tinker, and by the time he reached high school his focus turned from the stage to the workshop.
