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MiKe everMan Project Designer and Engineer bell-everman 35 years
Santa Barbara Human Resources Association presents
“Humanity Means Business” China Gorman Presents Wednesday, May 17 11:30 AM - 1:15 PM
The Fess Parker DoubleTree Santa Barbara
China Gorman will share personal observations as well as current research and analysis on the ROI of creating a more human workplace culture. She will introduce four organizations that are supporting the “humanization” of work. You’ll be interested to learn about the positive evidence that shows why humanity means business. To register for this event, or find out more about this and future programs, visit sbhra.org or email info@sbhra.org
Luncheon sponsored by 12
WO R K I T ! T he CaR e e R s I s s u e • t h e Sa n ta Ba r Ba r a I n d e p e n d e n t • May 11, 2017
What was the scariest thing about your job when you first started? I started out at Able Engineering, building a rotary joint for the International Space Station’s solar array, but when I went out on my own, I learned that the patent on such an object is not frequently used. Market research is really necessary. I had made a $100 device, except only about 600 are needed per year. I spent several years consulting, eating mac ’n’ cheese, before my company got off the ground. What did you like best when you began? What do you like best now? I got into engineering through art and design. Engineering allows art, but it’s a lot harder to get art to finance engineering, like kinetic sculpture, for instance. My pinnacle project, the one that challenged all my engineering experience, is this massively articulating surgical robot. It’s like a third arm for a surgeon. Getting the 10 separately moving pieces to move together as the surgeon directs was difficult on the software side, but it was also a packaging nightmare, like a puzzle. The 3D printer makes all the difference. They’re 10-12 times faster than machining a model, and you can produce a piece at a time. I can work the bits out rather than the whole, and then, holding it, carrying it around, I can think about how to make it better. What personality type best thrives in this position? Well, as a kid, my parents were happy if my toys lasted more than a day. I’d take them apart; I couldn’t ever put them back together, either. But drawing and inventing all the time, the mechanical left side of the brain got a workout and also the creative and artistic right side of the brain. What would others find surprising about the job? I’ve found that when you’re on the way to an impossible goal, spin-offs happen. Your work may not be taking you to where you thought you were going, but don’t feel bad. You’ll end up somewhere, and you’ll embrace it. What are the formal education or background experiences required for your job? I went to Cal Poly for a bachelor’s in aeronautics, but my scores weren’t good enough, so I went into physics. But I worked with the aeronautics team as an illustrator for a human-powered flight project, so I —Jean Yamamura got my toe in the door for aerospace that way.