Design Contest March 2022
Winners
We’re all thrilled to announce our Design Contest 2 winners. After reviewing all the applications, while we appreciate all the work and effort that everyone put into the contest, the judges announced the winners as below:
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Best Prototype, Most Creative Design, and Best of Best.
Sam Abner
Best Problem-solving Design
Liam Riddell
Smallest Solution and Best Presentation
Shen Liu
Meet The Winners
Sam Abner
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I am Sam Abner.
I am currently attending The Leffell School located in Hartsdale, NY. I have also attended high school in the UK, at the Halcyon London International School and the American School in London. At a young age, I developed an interest in 3D printers and saved up to purchase my own DIY printer. I was thrilled to have access to an Ender 5 printer as part of my 6 week internship with Blue Heart Hero.
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Next year, I plan to attend Elon University in North Carolina, where I will be part of the Innovations Scholar program. The program focuses on design and entrepreneurship. I play on the Leffell Varsity Soccer team and play the trumpet as a hobby. In my spare time, this winter, I worked in NJ as a snowboard instructor at Campgaw Mountain. This summer, I will work as a counselor at Camp Ramah in Wingdale, NY.
Liam Riddell
I am a mechanical engineer (EIT) with a passion for product design, manufacturing, and business development. I developed my passion while attending the University of Manitoba for mechanical engineering. There, I found invaluable mentorship and gained useful skills through courses like Advanced Graphical Communications (GD&T), Machine Design, and Design of Biomechanical Devices. I got involved with student groups such as SAE Formula and Baja where I learned from my peers and worked with them to build vehicles fit for competition.
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While I was a student, I operated a sole proprietorship that helped other entrepreneurs and hobbyists. I sold and serviced 3D printers, and provided services such as computer-aided-design, 3D printing, and CNC woodworking. After graduating, I joined one of my first client's company full-time, where I designed custom equipment for agricultural research and oversaw the day-to-day operations. After collaborating on projects for several years, I joined my colleague and friend, Shea Hunt, as Managing Partner at Valley Prototyping Solutions, which is my primary focus today. I really enjoy what this role allows me to do; I create affordable, functional prototypes for our clients using our own equipment, local fabrication shops, and online marketplaces for custom manufacturing.
Shen Liu
I am Shen Liu, a studying industrial design in the MFA program at Rochester Institute of Technology. I will focus my creative pursuits on two topics, design for vulnerable groups & sustainable development. As responsible ID scholars, under the premise of meeting the user-centered design, we should have a longer-term pursuit to influence user behavior by designing products that make our living environment better.
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By contacting 3D printing technology, I have a better understanding of mechanical structure. And in 2016, I won third place in the industrial design competition of Zhejiang Province in China. In addition, I worked as a digital lab manager at Marshall University in 2019 and 2020.