In this episode of The BOM: Engineering A Path Forward we have the pleasure of sitting down with Engineering Program Manager for Apple and interior designer Anthony Oyatayo to learn a bit more about how the principles of design find their way into engineering.  Anthony is going to tell us why soft skills are just as important as the technical aspects of design and engineering and how he managed to use these skills to help him navigate the controlled chaos that is designing at Apple and help...

Today, in this episode of the Bom: Engineering a Path, we’re sitting down with Eric Weinhoffer, Senior Hardware Development Specialist at Skydio. Skydio isn’t just a drone company but instead an organization looking to advance what is even possible in safety and situational intelligence for first responders and utility workers. Imagine a fire from power lines being detected in minutes instead of hours.  Eric is going to tell us how he got his start in the engineering and design world through...

In this episode of the Bom: Engineering A Path Forward we’re at Chicago’s ideal fab lab, mHub with co-founder Bill Fienup. Most design labs in the US work off a basic subscription model and have access to tools that most start-ups don’t have. mHub is no different in that aspect but as Bill explains, the level of funding, mentorship, and expertise offered to the start-ups working with mHub sets the space apart. We’ll also hear about Bill’s time working in plasma research at the Los Alamos...

In this episode of the Bom: Engineering A Path Forward we’re back at mHub in Chicago looking at how music technology is more than synths and software. It’s everything from basic controllers that play a single sound to full haptic feedback setups that in recent times have been used to create an interactive playground to help children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.   Today, we’re talking to one of the product design engineers Fred Kelly from Heath Interactive about this impressive...

In this episode of the Bom: Engineering A Path Forward, we sit down with the CEO of a company that has basically created magic. NuCurrent is at the forefront of wireless charging and futuristic wireless power technology from pop sockets that charge your phone to smart basketballs and medical devices that can’t easily access external charging. Jacob Babcock the shares how he went from a law student to designing wireless power for Spalding, what strategies early engineers could take to keep...

As you have probably noticed, we’ve been on a bit of a break but we’re coming back with exclusive interviews from amazing events and locations. This summer, we’ve been on the road to Chicago to visit mHub to talk with some of the founders, engineers, and builders of incredible hardware and start-ups. You’ll get to see all that and more, but first, we have an unreleased episode with a previous guest. Vijay Varada is 2023’s Hackaday Prize Grand Prize Winner and co-founder of Fraktal Works an...

In this episode of The Bom: Engineering A Path Forward, we take a look at the way that collaboration spaces can be redesigned to better foster innovation with artists, designers, and engineers. We’re going to hear from the Co-founder of MotionLab.Berlin Chris Iwasjuta about the origin story of MotionLab, why he felt this calling to build a collaboration space for designers and engineers, and how a double-decker bus became a brand feature of MotionLab.  MotionLab.Berlin

In this episode of The Bom: Engineering a Path Forward, we welcome Sera Evcimen, Founder of the startup consulting firm Pratik. Pratik focuses on finding practical solutions to finish hardware stacks and help get their product to market. Sera’s unique insight into the process of fleshing out a product’s design and manufacturing explains why she chooses to only work with companies that are designing meaningful and impactful hardware. If you’re curious about the best path forward for an...

In this episode of The Bom: Engineering a Path Forward, we sit down with the Founder and CEO of Loomia, Madison Maxey.Loomia is  an e-textile company that is redefining what’s possible in flexible circuitry and electronics-integrated fabrics. We’ll get a peek into Madison’s predictions about the future in the wearable electronics space and what she learned throughout her five year journey to get Loomia off the ground. Loomia

Today, on The Bom: Engineering A Path Forward we sit down with Fracktal Works Co-founder Vijay Raghav Varada. Vijay walks us through the need for 3D-printed parts in advanced manufacturing and where traditional CNC parts fail, why he decided to keep Fracktal Work projects open source, and the exciting possibilities of what advanced 3D-printing might hold for the future of tactical hardware. 

In this episode of The Bom: Engineering a Path Forward, I’m going to ask you to think about a rather futurist question: what does daily life look like in space? Sure, we have the Hollywood version of life amongst the stars. Star Wars, Dune, and even cult classics like Alien give us an idealistic glimpse. However, these are far from the reality of what it’s like to gather around and break bread in zero gravity. Today’s guest is Sana Sharma, the co-founder and chief design officer at the...

In this episode of The Bom: Engineering a Path Forward, we’re talking about the process of turning engineering components into musical instruments and how that has the potential to change many aspects of our culture. At least, that’s what my guest today, Kirk Pearson, founder of Dogbotic, believes. Dogbotic is a music and sound research collective that is redefining what music is and is working to make musical and electrical engineering education more accessible. 

Majenta Strongheart sits down with Anna-Katrina Shedletsky, the co-founder and CEO of Instrumental. Instrumental is focused on one of the most important aspects of the manufacturing world today. Creating a more efficient quality tracking system in the production process that so many hardware companies rely on. From the beginning Anna and the whole team at Instrumental asked the question, how do we increase yield, decrease wasted product, downtime in production, and critical mistakes in the...

Rosalind Picard is the founder and director of the Affective Computing Research Lab at MIT and co-founded both Affectiva and Empatica. Both companies are aimed at using extensive AI and wearable tech to improve the lives of people with chronic illnesses and make robots act a little more human. Ironically enough, she never wanted to start any kind of company but the need for better data and better measurement tools pushed her past the point of research and into the public sphere of engineering...

Tomide Adesanmi is the co-founder and CEO of Circuit Mind. Algorithmic software that helps electronics engineers and designers go from architecture to complete schematics in roughly 60 seconds. In Tomide's experience, far too many electronics designers and engineers spend far too much time drawing and planning the architecture of their motherboards. Researching components suppliers, reading complex manuals and workflows, and starting over when something doesn't work right on the motherboard...

Majenta expresses gratitude to the fantastic listeners and shares some thrilling news. While The BOM takes a brief break to gear up, Majenta teases upcoming interviews featuring guests from Motorola and other incredible technology and hardware companies. She encourages listeners to dive into the podcast's treasure trove of past interviews with tech leaders, entrepreneurs, and hardware creators. She also announced the Hackaday Super Conference 2023, with tickets currently live on Eventbrite....

Mareike Kritzler is the Siemens research group head of the Smart Machine Vision and Visualization team. The team’s research keeps the human in the loop and allows for interaction with a Digital Twin or a physical machine through human-machine interfaces such as Augmented Reality. Before Mareike joined Siemens Corporate Technology, she was a Development Specialist for Augmented Reality apps at a German startup, first in Munich, Germany, and then in San Francisco. Her Diploma (M.S.) and PhD are...

This was my talk with JD Sassaman, the accomplished architect and innovation expert currently developing Ford’s E mobility facilities in downtown Detroit. We spoke about the importance of diverse experience and teamwork, the childlike joy of creation, and the close relationship between technology and creativity.

This was my interview with David Cuartielles, co-found of Arduino, Cuartielles has been an active advocate for open-source technology and has contributed to various projects focused on education, interactive installations, and creativity in the technology domain. He has been involved in initiatives that aim to democratize technology and promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education worldwide. We talked about his journey as an educator and the catch-22 of open...

Today we talked to Mike Deppe, VP of Product Development with Molex. With a background in mechanical engineering, Mike worked in several departments in his 21 years at Molex, which taught him to value knowledge sharing and talent that is curious to learn more. With over one hundred thousand products Molex has many customers in many different markets, from automotive to medical, industrial, consumer space, and more, Mike talks about the key areas Molex focuses on prioritizing in. Molex:...

Today I spoke to Easton LaChappelle, founder of Unlimited Tomorrow which manufactures high-quality, customizable prosthetics accessible to people who couldn't afford traditional alternatives. Easton talks about his journey into the business and within it, his transition from creator to operator, and the current focus of the company.

Tom Hoffman is the Portfolio Development Executive and Director of LIFT and Business Development for Digital Enterprise at Siemens. LIFT is a joint public-privaste program run by several engineering firms, college, and the US Department of Defense operated by the American Lightweight Materials Manufacturing Innovation Institute (ALMMII). Siemens: https://www.siemens.com/us/en.html LIFT: https://lift.technology/about-us/ from SupplyFrame

This week, we were on-site speaking with Fernando Bales, build lab manager for Citizen Robotics in Detroit, Michigan. Citizen Robotics is a non-profit working to reduce the cost – both in labor hours and in dollars – of building new homes through the use of robotics. Beyond that, they’re also focused on education and access – something you all know we’re always on board for at Supplyframe. Through their training center, they bring these exciting technologies to people in the community, from...

Zvi Feuer is the SVP of Manufacturing Engineering at Siemens Industry Software (SISW). This episode covers Zvi’s decades of experience starting his career in industrial engineering, pivoting to management and business development, his takeaways from managing a fully-remote team, and how Siemens continues to help contribute to the training and learning process for aspiring engineers around the world. Siemens: https://www.sw.siemens.com/en-US/ Siemens...