Thesis

Pick Smith is a set of custom banjo picks, that provide support and style to the wearer. This project is a material study in metalworking and wearable supports, reimagining banjo picks through traditional metalsmithing techniques.

Pick smith is a project based on creating a set of banjo picks that will support my fingers as well as giving me the opportunity to learn traditional metalworking techniques at NuVu

Origionaly this project was just going to be a brace for my pinky is double joineted and supporting it would make playing less painful

After learning how to rivet and making some prototypes

I landed on this prototype, that did exactly what I needed it too. But there is much more i can do with this project, so i decided to make a full set of metal finger picks.

I started with my pointer and middle finger, the design of these aimed to stay true to a regular banjo pick but into the riveting to make sure the set was cohesive

Lastly I did the thumb. I chopped a plastic thumb pick in half and rivetted the plastic to a metal base that I made, and it came out like this

Final Photo

Final photo of project (delete this)

• I learned new metal working techniques that could be done here at NuVu for my future projects.

Reflections

• Finding a place to work at NuVu was difficult

FOundations for bringing metal into future nuvu projects

• The pinky brace works but will but will take time to get used to
• The picks are chunky because I only had a lower gauge brass to work with.

Thank You!

Problem

My Solution

Users

• Banjo Players
• People with finger pain
• People who play different instruments

Precedents

Thesis

Banjo playing requires precise finger control, which sometimes requires me to put lots of pressure on my pinky finger, this causes pain, which makes certain techniques difficult. This project aims to design a lightweight, ergonomic pinky brace that provides support without limiting movement, allowing for more comfortable and controlled playing.

Arthritis Splints

Hand Jewelry

Process

Sketching

Functional Lo-Fi

prototyping

Material and Craft Practice

Expansion

3D modeling

Material Prototyple

Product

Design Features

• Pinky brace
• Finger picks, and thumb pick
• Interconnection between parts

Next Steps

• Figuring out more ways this project can cater to different people needs
• Looking at different ends goals for this projects, how i can expand on this idea

Thank You

WATER GRIDS

ELECTRICITY GRIDS

ALTERNATIVE GRIDS:

SAFETY GRIDS

OFF-THE-GRID?

Commuter-driven off-grid social media for the greater NuVu community

Commuter Communication

B. Armstrong, B. Kraemer, B. Munson, P. Tibbetts, J. Vincent

What:

• Decentralized social media network
• LoRa Radio-based device
• Key chains to a central transceiver

Why:

• Free communication from the hands of corporations
• Increase user autonomy

- Existing Communication Systems

Precedents

"The Better NuVu Server"

The NuVu News Letter

NuVu Minecraft

HAM

Pirate

LoRa

- Radio Types and Wavelengths

Precedents

- Tech

Precedents

Meshtastic

IMSI Catcher

Viruses

Charging Board

Pi Pico 2

Micro SD Reader

LoRa Transceiver

SMA Antenna

Mounting Holes

Component Shell

Battery Bay

mothership iterations

Phase One

Phase Two

Phase Three

We're Here

Content Creation and User Testing

Design and Technical Framework

Dissemination

What is the Problem?

Only 19.4% of students ages 16-19 work jobs while enrolled in school and 81% of college graduates wish they were taught more about job life.

What is the Problem?

Only 19.4% of students ages 16-19 work jobs while enrolled in school and 81% of college graduates wish they were taught more about job life.

Many high-schoolers don’t understand the expectations, courses, and mindset needed for certain jobs. Additionally, people who have taken courses don’t always know what jobs they can do. We want to create a website where people enter what they enjoy or what courses they have taken to get a list of jobs.

How Will This Help?

Each job includes statistics on:

• Salary
• Acceptance rate
• Largest companies

This will help students figure out which are close by, which jobs they enjoy, and which pay well.

Precedents

Linkedin is a social networking app/website where people can find jobs. However, the recommended jobs are not always things you can do.

Precedents

Linkedin is a social networking app/website where people can find jobs. However, the recommended jobs are not always things you can do.

Indeed is a simple and efficient job searching website it is hooked up to many different job listings However, it doesn't have any job recommendations

Start On Next Ideas

Feedback

From Companies

• You don't need all the qualifications just a bachelor's in your field of engineering.
• Job experience is the most important part.
• They will teach you some parts of the job like CAD(Computer Aided Design).
• You can work in a job that is very similar to what you already know.

Feedback from employees

• Experience is very important and sought after.
• Interviews are about an hour but the hiring process takes 2-4 weeks.
• Connections are very useful and important to get jobs.
• Qualifications vary in necessity however you need a certain starting amount to be even looked at by employers.
• Enthusiasm is very important and looked for by employers.
• People like jobs with money good vibe and worthwhileness.
• Apply for a huge set of jobs then see how many get back (20-50 is a good amount).

How It Was Coded

• Technologies: Python (backend), HTML (website design), SQL (database)



• Workflow:
• Database creation with job details
• Checkbox submission for user qualifications
• Comparison with database for matching jobs

Main Struggles

Most of our struggles were due to tedious work that came from debugging the code. We also had multiple tasks where only person could work on that was needed before other tasks could be completed.

Main Struggles

Most of our struggles were due to tedious work that came from debugging the code. We also had multiple tasks where only person could work on that was needed before other tasks could be completed.

How we Overcame These Struggles

We worked really far in advance so that the project could keep moving. We also found that resources like Chat GPT and Stack Overflow could help a lot with efficiently doing tedious tasks and fixing code. Such tedious tasks were:

• Changing names in datasets
• Quickly finding statistics

Conclusion

Unlike other job websites Career Map personalizes its approach to job searching, allowing users to find work according to their preferences and career goals. It does this by allowing the user to input work they have done and activities that they enjoy.

Visceral Trinkets is a series of small objects which explore the line between what is acceptable in art and what is too gross or too creepy. The trinkets are constructed of materials which are in great abundance but rarely considered in the context of making and art. This aims to challenge why we draw these lines where we do.

Other art I looked into

Form Tests

Material Tests