Justin Chang Stauffer

at Northwestern University

I’m a product design engineer working at the intersection of user research and design. I’m currently pursuing my master’s in Design Engineering Innovation at Northwestern University, building on a background in mechanical engineering and product design. During my undergraduate studies, I received awards in a NASA competition for designing technology to support permanent lunar settlement, and worked on projects ranging from redesigning injection molding systems to developing sustainable industrial products.

My passion lies in everyday design; in a world that caters to one group of people, I want to make a difference where it actually matters. I went into engineering with a dream of solving the world’s problems– focusing on accessibility and simplicity, I want to create a world where no one is left behind.

Engineering Design Innovation

RESUME

Looking for work in Chicago!

Location

Mail

You can reach me at jchangstauffer@gmail.com

Scroll to see some of my projects

Developed Work

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

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.

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

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.

Exploratory Projects

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

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

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

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

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

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.