Past Work, Ongoing Ideas
Below are some projects from years past. Some are still bouncing around in my head, waiting to be re-explored, and others were good fun and great learning. I’ve kept this record for you and me both, so enjoy!
Closed-loop takeout
After a lunch spent watching dozens of people criss-crossing the street with their takeout, I became certain there was a better alternative. ReGo is my project to reimagine takeout. Through a combination of reusable containers, reward systems, and a network of food providers, I believe we can bring more sustainable behavior to the growing takeout and lunch industries. Ask me about my vision for food in the future!
Low speed at high speed
In the crucible of a 24 hour, inter-university design challenge, our team created a toolbox to help guide post-operative recovery. Within a day, we met, researched, tested, and iterated.
The output of this design was a low-cost toolkit that hospitals would provide to post-operative seniors, who might be experiencing lasting effects from general anesthesia. Our design gives both patients and caregivers a set of touchpoints and celebrations along the path to recovery.
Hakuna Matata -- No Waste
The introductory period to the Engineering Design Innovation graduate program consisted of a two week bootcamp. In our year, the intensive was themed "Hakuna Matata". Our charge was to apply our interpretation of the phrase to a project, which we would share at the end of the bootcamp.
Upon reflection, I came to the conclusion that "no worries", or relaxation, was not achievable unless I made a good faith effort to take care of my environment in any attempt at taking care of myself. No worries also meant a space to rest.
To this end, I built a hammock purely out of material I found in the trash and recycling around campus. I even created a tool to generate rope from empty soda bottles. Other materials included wood pallets, veneer, scrap cloth, and cotton wadding. No waste, fewer worries.
Our team, composed of students in business, design, engineering, and law asked the question: "What might transportation look like in five to ten years, and what infrastructure will be needed to get us there?"
Each of us took on part of the challenge of unpacking this potential future. My focus was in need-finding, narrowing the scope of inquiry, and ideating on potential solution directions.
After performing secondary research in various sub-fields of transportation and talking to stakeholders across a range of transportation-related opportunity areas, our team realized that our time would be best spent designing around our future coexistence with drones. We therefore designed modular infrastructure for the future of drone-based transportation, with a focus on being able to employ network effects, cover all basic needs, and franchise our business.