I love to design and build things that are as functional as they are aesthetically pleasing, and it’s why originally decided to study mechanical engineering. I’ve since switched to the TAM program in order to take a more artistic and creative approach to design and engineering. I love to try and look at problems from different perspectives in order to find creative and unique solutions. Using these skills I’ve worked with teams to win best in our class in both of the engineering projects classes I’ve participated in, GEEN 1400 and GEEN 2400. I also have a passion for mountain sports, like climbing, skiing, kayaking and mountain biking, and I love taking photos of my friends doing all of these things in the incredible places they take me to. My main aspiration is to find some way of combining my love of design, mountains, and photography into some kind of job I can make a living doing in order to fund a lifestyle traveling around the world and exploring mountains. I’m most interested right now in designing outdoor gear.
Right now I’m working on a design for an ultralight tripod that I hope to market and sell. I made a 3d printed prototype that utilizes carbon fiber tubes last year for a photography expedition to Denali, the highest peak in North America. I was shooting for a guiding company, and wanted a tripod in order to shoot time-lapses and stable video, but I didn’t want to add another 3 lbs of gear to my already massive pack. So this design strips the tripod down just to essentials and uses lightweight materials. It worked great on Denali, and now I sometimes bring it with me to shoot long exposures on trail runs.
As for skills, I took mechanical engineering classes through sophomore year so I am reasonably proficient with engineering software like SolidWorks and Matlab as well as fabrication techniques including laser cutting, 3d printing, woodworking, machining etc. I’ve made projects with Arduino and used lots of RGB leds to create a matrix and display things. I’ve also worked extensively with Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom and Illustrator, and right now I’m learning Rhino and Grasshopper.
Also, here’s a sample of my photography and some of the things I like to shoot and places I like to go!
http://creative.colorado.edu/~japl6507/jack-plantz-photography/index.html
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This post is awesome. I love the photos you included and I am glad you’re in my group because you seem really creative. Do you know what you are thinking of making for your final project?