Gary Rohrbacher Appointed Robert Lynn Leininger Endowed Professor in Furniture Design

Gary Rohrbacher, associate professor in the University of Kentucky School of Architecture, has been announced as the Robert Lynn Leininger Endowed Professor in Furniture Design, a four-year appointment that will continue through June 30, 2029. 

The Leininger Professorship honors the legacy of the late Robert Lynn Leininger, founder of Leininger Cabinet and Woodworking, Inc. The professorship aims to perpetuate Leininger’s passion for furniture design by supporting educators who inspire innovation and skill in this field. Rohrbacher does just that as an award-winning educator, researcher and entrepreneur in the furniture design space. As part of the professorship, Rohrbacher will receive annual research funding to support projects that may include equipment acquisition, exhibitions, symposia, travel, and other programmatic needs directly tied to innovation in furniture design. 

Rohrbacher’s research involves designing and producing furniture, objects and spaces with an approach that combines machining technique, design thinking and hands-on making. In 2016, he was named a UK University Research Professor, and in 2017 he co-authored and published “Make: Design for CNC Furniture Projects and Fabrication Technique.” 

He is the co-founder of Filson and Rohrbacher, an architecture, design and fabrication practice that’s dedicated to digital craftsmanship and the challenge of transforming digital designs into physical reality. Rohrbacher also co-founded AtFAB, an open-source line of digitally fabricated furniture that is a recognized pioneer in distributed manufacturing. His furniture and installations have been exhibited in significant national and international design venues, including the Nieuwe Institute in the Netherlands, the Design Society museum in China, Der Schweizerische National Museum in Switzerland, and France’s Centre National des Arts Plastiques.