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Senior at Northwestern University

​       As a kid, it was always my biggest dream to become an inventor-- someone who could create machines and contraptions to solve the world's problems. I initially went into engineering due to my love for building and problem solving.

       Throughout the last few years-- struggling, learning, solving, creating, succeeding-- I started looking back at how far I came, and realized my childish dream to change the world might not be so impossible after all. As I look to move forward from school, I'm excited to have the opportunity to help improve the lives of the people around me.​ 

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Mechanical Engineering & Design

Looking for work in Chicago!

You can reach me at jchangstauffer@gmail.com

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Developed Work

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REDESIGNING
INJECTION MOLDING

Creating injection molding molds is costly and time-consuming. It requires machining of a solid metal block, and must be completely redone if any change is required. As my capstone project, we are redesigning the process by using sheet metal molds, allowing the molding setup to be adaptable and easily replaceable

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TEACHING DYNAMIC SYSTEMS

I worked as a teaching assistant for Introduction to System Dynamics. I worked with students individually for 10+ hours a week and helped teach 3 days a week.

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Last year, we were awarded a NASA grant of $180K to design ACRE: an autonomous rover system designed to facilitate the process of creating lunar infrastructure. We presented to a panel of NASA judges at the conference and were awarded the Systems Engineering award. ​​​

NASA BIG IDEA CHALLENGE

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MEDICAL DEVICE DESIGN: EMBOLIZATION COIL

I am working on improving embolization coil design. Currently, most coils are not compatible with many catheters, leading to physicians using coils that are not optimal for the intended purpose. I am working on designing a catheter-agnostic coil, which are still in early phases in the market, and improve upon the existing state of coils. 

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Exploratory Projects

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I created a design using 507 solid bodies to emulate the layering of resin art. The final version has working buttons, screen protection, camera protection, and shock absorption.

3D PRINTED PHONE CASE

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​Plastic children's toys are often used for a short time, then replaced or forgotten as children lose interest. I wanted to prove that it would be possible to replace nearly any plastic toy with a more sustainable cardboard option.

SUSTAINABLE CHILDREN'S TOY

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We performed a full cradle to gate life cycle analysis of the CALYX helmet. We worked with a team of senior design students; we performed comparative analyses to determine the effects the production of this helmet would have on the environment. We were able to additionally give recommendations to the

                 design team in order to reduce

                 the environmental impacts

                 of the product.

LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS

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In this user experience design project, we aimed to increase interaction between the plant and the owner. We considered current products in the market, and talked to potential users. At the end of the quarter, we presented for a panel of design industry experts. 

BotaniPal

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The BetterVessel is an easy to operate countertop composter designed to minimize the time the user spends composting, while compiling the resulting worm castings in a single area.

Indoor composting, while on the rise, is often inefficient due to the lack of industry in the field. The BioVessel, a popular urban composting bin our client used, failed at its promises of a self-sustaining indoor ecosystem. ​

The BetterVessel

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Many young children are picky or have poor eating habits, which neglect important food groups and can lead to long term health consequences. We worked with parents to create a theme around which to inspire children to eat more healthily.

PICKY EATER PACKAGE

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