Jeff Stephen
Department of Mechanical Engineering Technology
Jeff Stephen is the Engineering Department’s jack-of-all-trades. He’s interested in product/concept development, prototyping, alternate power such as wind or hydro, mechanisms, thermodynamics, processors, and micro-manufacturing of medical devices such as neuro-stimulation electrodes.
Stephen enjoys teaching one of the engineering students’ final courses in project planning and design. Students have to come up with an idea such as a new product or a better design on an existing product. Stephen takes them through design proposals, the design process, manufacturing and then students display their final product in a trade show.
“I really enjoy sitting down with the students and having them look at different angles to develop their idea,” says Stephen. “I like that it’s not just theoretical—students actually build things.”
Students have developed a wide range of innovative designs in the 11-week process, such as alternate energy production, a folding wheelchair and remote underwater vehicles.
Stephen says sometimes projects will be industry-sponsored, so they’ll have an outside client who pays for the development of the design. For example, one client wanted students to design an electric recumbent bike, another client had students design water flow generators that could be put into pipelines to generate power.
Stephen has worked with small to medium-sized manufacturing companies and disabled associations, as well as the general public for prototyping.
He’s also involved in the Canary Derby, a fundraiser for the BC Cancer Foundation, and helped students design the soapbox car entered into the race (shown in photo).
Contact
Department of Mechanical Engineering Technology
Interurban Campus, Camosun College
250–370–4514
stephen@camosun.bc.ca
