Jay Chomowicz
they/them
I am a mechanical engineer with a passion for human-centered design. I love collaborating with diverse teams of people to find creative solutions to complex problems, especially when I get to do some hands-on machining or fabrication in the process. Through the technology I develop, I want to help build a world that is more accessible to everyone.
Featured Projects
Here are a few of my current favorite projects
Custom Avionics Transportation Equipment
As a Mechanical Engineer, I am fascinated by the ways that design, prototyping, testing, fabrication, manufacturing, and maintenance create the world we live in. I have experience in all of theseprocesses, and my capstone project at Olin College gave me the opportunity to take a single device all the way from ideation to production. For this project, my team of five was sponsored by Blue Origin to develop equipment for transporting and testing avionics for the New Glenn rocket. In addition to developing the attachment mechanism and doing much of the machining, I was also the project manager for this 9-month operation.
Electronic Scooter Adaptation
Of all the aspects of engineering that I love, I am most passionate about is human-centered design. This project, adapting an electric scooter for a manual wheelchair user to ride, is one of my favorites because I was able to work wwith Eric Kondo (left in above photo), a manual wheelchair user and expert in do-it-yourself adaptive technology (check out Erik's explanation of DIY-AT here). Through this and other projects, I've learned so much about how to use the skills and privilege I have been given to empower others. No matter what I am working on, I strive to learn more and do better at working for and with the people that are at the heart of any engineering project.
Tesla Turbine
Another thing that I love is fabrication. As an assistant in Olin's machine shop, I learned not only the fundamentals of the manual and CNC mill and lathes, but also how to care for the machines and how to instruct others in how to use them safely and effectively. Building this Tesla Turbine was the project through which I gained the machining experience to become a shop assistant.
Engineering & Design
Here's my full portfolio of engineering and design projects, organized chronologically. To see more about any of the projects, click on its image. You can also use the buttons below to filter the projects by what skills I used most for them.
