Ted Southern is an artist and inventor.

Southern served as the President and co-founder of Final Frontier Design (FFD), Principal Investigator for 5 NASA SBIR contracts since 2011, and FFD’s lead for a Space Act Agreement with NASA’s Commercial Space Capabilities Office (CSCO).

Southern also served as the primary contractor for a 14-month fixed price contract with NASA JSC for space suit glove development and has overseen the development and build of 4 generations of commercial IVA space suits at FFD.

While he was the acting president of FFD, he oversaw the management, accounting, day-to-day operations, and long-term vision of the company, as well as overseeing specific projects.

Before working with space suits, Southern worked in the costume and special effects industry for more than 15 years, with design and fabrication experience on major television, movie, broadway, opera, fine art, and commercial productions, including Victoria’s Secret, Cirque du Soleil, Gladstone Gallery, and Paramount Pictures.

Southern also taught the “Future Wearables” class as part of the School of Visual Arts Interactive Design Masters program. Ted studied as an music undergraduate at the University of Puget Sound, and received an MFA from Pratt Institute in 2007.