Grant Imahara

Grant Imahara
Personal Information
Born	October 23, 1970
Died	July 13, 2020
Years Active	1997-2010
BattleBots Information
Role	Competitor, Guest Judge
Seasons	Long Beach 1999 Seasons 1.0-5.0 World Championship III

"Nothing can replace the thrill of going into an arena and having your robot kick someone's ass."

— Grant Imahara in a 2001 interview

Grant Imahara (October 23, 1970 – July 13, 2020) was an electrical engineer, roboticist and television personality who competed in six BattleBots events in total as captain of the Imahara Robotics team. In 2018, he returned to the show as a guest judge during World Championship III on Discovery.

His involvement with BattleBots began in Long Beach, where he competed in the inaugural 1999 event with Deadblow and won the Megabot Royal Rumble. He would ultimately enter Deadblow into all five seasons on Comedy Central, becoming a fan favorite and finishing middleweight runner-up in Season 1.0. In April 2018, after his season as a BattleBots judge, Grant Imahara announced his retirement from the sport.

On July 13, 2020, it was announced that Grant Imahara had unexpectedly passed away at the age of 49 from a brain aneurysm, with tributes led by BattleBots themselves and his Mythbusters colleagues. Following the news, the Discovery Channel and the Science Channel ran a marathon broadcast over two days, including episodes of MythBusters, Killer Robots: RoboGames 2011 and White Rabbit Project.

The Best Design Award was renamed the 'Grant Imahara Award for Best Design' in his honor during World Championship V. Since his passing, Grant Imahara's mother and friends set up a non-profit organization called the Grant Imahara STEAM Foundation in his honor. Its goal is to inspire youth into science, technology, engineering, art and math. The organization started a LEGO robotics program inspired by combat robot events called RoboBattles for children aged 7-14. Fellow BattleBots competitor and judge Fon Davis has served on its board of directors.

The Best Design Award renamed in Imahara's honor, presented in 2022.

Grant Imahara and Deadblow during Season 5.0.

Grant Imahara and Deadblow during Season 3.0.

Grant Imahara and Deadblow after winning the Season 2.0 Royal Rumble.

Grant Imahara and Deadblow during Season 2.0.

Grant Imahara and Deadblow during Season 1.0.

Grant Imahara hoisting the Giant Nut in 1999.

Outside BattleBots

Imahara was a former animatronics engineer and model maker for Industrial Light & Magic, where he worked on movies such as The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence and Van Helsing. He also worked on multiple installments in The Matrix franchise, including The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. He was best known for his work on the hit show MythBusters, alongside fellow former BattleBots competitors Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman.

His interest in combat robotics continued beyond the end of BattleBots on Comedy Central, as he presented the Science Channel show Killer Robots: RoboGames 2011 in May that year - the first televised combat robotics show in the US since the demise of BattleBots. He also hosted the 2015 edition of RoboGames and in 2016, hosted the Netflix series White Rabbit Project along with fellow Mythbusters cast members Kari Byron and Tory Belleci.

Grant Imahara continued to work on multiple projects up until his death, including playing Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek Continues, working with Energizer Bunny mascots, Geoff Peterson from The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and a giant robot duel organized by American company MegaBots.

Grant Imahara presenting Killer Robots: RoboGames 2011.

Grant Imahara speaking to Matt and Wendy Maxham of Sewer Snake during RoboGames 2011.

Grant Imahara (left) in a promotional shot for MythBusters.

Grant Imahara as Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek Continues.

See Also

• Grant Imahara on X
• Grant Imahara STEAM Foundation website