United States
I love what I do: Working to build one of the best, most hands-on engineering programs in the country. I bring a background in high-volume manufacturing and consumer product design to the lab and classroom, where I help our engineers design manufactured products intelligently, predict problems, and get their hands dirty turning ideas into real parts. My personal passion is machining processes. I'm convinced that most undergraduate engineering education about machining is 20+ years behind the times, and not really geared towards engineers. I'm working hard to make Utah Tech the exception. An engineering graduate who has only ever used cheap tools in cheap machines is simply not prepared to make wise decisions about machining processes in the real world. I want our students to see everything from machining thermodynamics to materials science to economics; and I want to see them using the best possible tooling and the best possible machines so that they know what machining processes can really do!
Creating and teaching courses related to manufacturing and product design at one of the most innovative and hands-on engineering programs in the country. I leverage my background in high-volume manufacturing and consumer product design to help our engineers predict problems and design intelligently. We've put together an engineering fabrication lab with production-quality machines and world-class tools. My goal is to guide engineering students through experiences that mimic real-world manufacturing processes. I'm especially passionate about modern machining processes. I've built relationships with some of the best machine tool and tooling manufacturers in the world in an effort to give our students first-hand experiences that shape the way they think about the economics and constraints of machining. Our students see the limits of what modern machining can accomplish, pushing tools hard and programming smart. Having personally solved real problems using some of the best products in the world, they enter the workforce having seen the difference that quality machines, tool-holders, and tooling can make.
FirstBuild (operated by GE Appliances) is a destination where makers from all backgrounds bring innovative products to life. As a design engineer, I am part of a team responsible for the design and manufacture of prototype household appliances. We focus on rapid idea development and quickly testing market viability. Because the goal is to create new products or features, the process is typically iterative and requires frequent discussion with a multi-disciplinary team. - Design parts and assemblies utilizing 3D modeling and manufacturing software. Personally fabricate parts using a variety of processes to build working prototypes and test fixtures. - Manage and document the systematic testing of prototype designs to determine functionality and ensure reliability in a variety of use-cases. Develop new designs and test methods as needed. - Provide engineering drawings, design guidance, tolerance loop analyses, manufacturing advice, and test-plans to other facilities when moving from prototype to pilot to long-term production. - In order to encourage innovation at FirstBuild, the public is encouraged to participate in the development process and use shop-equipment for their own personal projects. This generates some unique responsibilities: o Encouraging community members to consider manufacturability in their designs o Assisting community members with design and manufacturing expertise o Maintaining cleanliness and organization in the community metalworking (machining) area o Ensuring community members follow proper safety protocols and manufacturing procedures
Part of a team responsible for managing the portfolio of electric starting motor and alternator designs used on Caterpillar engines and machines, personally responsible for over $18M in annual spend. - Functioned as the owner of all starting motor and alternator designs from three suppliers, and the primary technical liaison between Caterpillar and these suppliers. Audited new suppliers and new manufacturing lines. - Led the 24-48 month process of introducing new starting motor and alternator models into production on Caterpillar machines. - Collected technical requirements from multiple machine applications to create unified requirements documents. - Conducted and documented design reviews for proposed new starting motor and alternator designs. - Led failure mode / root cause analysis and implemented corrective actions for manufacturing and engineering quality issues. Conducted analysis of approximately 350 failed parts annually. - Supported cost reduction projects totaling over $400,000 annually. - Tracked warranty and reliability data for each starting motor and alternator model used at Caterpillar. Developed a statistical method to predict final metrics using immature failure data. - Oversaw laboratory validation testing for starting motor and alternator designs. Led an extensive revision of the documents which contain test plans used to evaluate new starting motor and alternator designs. The clarity, organization, technical accuracy, and functional usefulness of the documents was significantly improved.
Designed and fabricated a controllable 3-axis work surface to accurately position experiments at the focal point of a solar concentrator in the James S. Markiewicz Solar Energy Research Facility.