Introduction into my life and interests
Hello my name is Zion Felder and I am a Junior majoring in Mechanical Engineering. In terms of clubs I am the Athletic liaison for RBMA and am an active member of NSBE. Along with my association in these clubs I also work on campus for H&D creating stickers and designs for merch including beer bike stickers/apparel, college stickers, and other H&D clothing. Much in line with the graphic design work I do for Rice, I also have my own company called Digital Palette. This is a web and graphic design company I started in August of 2022. I am also a Design Mentor for Engi 120/220 and am pursuing the Engineering Design Minor. I am a former athlete and played football for Rice my freshman year. I was a receiver on the team however due to injury I made the decision to step away from football and prioritize my academics and physical health.
Having to only choose one thing, the thing I would list that I am proud of making is an adjustable leg abductor. This device was a seat that helped assist children with cerebral palsy by allowing them to use the restroom with more independence. This device helped to open the users legs as people with cerebral palsy typically have a scissoring gait which prevents them from using the restroom by themselves. Being able to come up with a device that could help resolve this issue was rewarding and I really appreciated the journey it took to come up with a device as such.
One thing that I would want to make either this semester or in the near future is a drone. I am not sure why but I feel like it would be really fun and it is something that is just generally cool to me. After Rice I want to get my masters from Stanford and then become a product design engineer. So in general there are multiple things I would love to make but I think my interest in terms of creating lies in consumer electronics/technology, robotics, and/or automotive industries.
One thing I hope to learn in this course is new creative process to bring my ideas and 2d/3d designs to life. As a product design engineer I would need to be familiar with the process of designing and creating my designs, making them into real life products and prototypes. I hope in this class I will be able to learn how to do just that.
