Jonathan Maier

Background

About Jonathan Maier

I'm a design guy, a strategic thinker, and passionate about creating great products and user experiences and helping others do the same. I have extensive experience in design research, education, prototyping, and project management. I love to share those experiences and skills with others!In my time as a researcher and then lecturer at Clemson I'm particularly proud of the product designs that my teams and I have worked on, including a test-bed engine for BMW, a tire-testing machine for Michelin, a next-generation home refrigerator, a power tool safety system powered by artificial intelligence, and a similarly powered safety system for water skiing. Most recently I've developed a system for creating large-scale works of art. I'm also proud to have developed a design history course that involves elements from industrial design and architectural design, which are also passions of mine.My signature achievement, as documented in my book, is how I changed the course of design research within the engineering design theory and methodology community, emphasizing the powerful concept of affordance, which is so much more powerful than function. It's been an honor since to collaborate with Don Norman and others who pioneered this concept before me.But nothing beats seeing my former colleagues, team-mates, and students achieve their dreams, starting businesses, creating beautiful and meaningful products, and striving to make the world a better place.In the last few years I've learned a lot about assessment, which may sound dry but turns out to be one of the most important forces driving improvement in higher education. I also took an interest in the technology making autonomous vehicles possible, and the potential impacts on society that these vehicles may have. I taught two honors seminars on the subject before the pandemic.For almost 20 years I've also been a licensed General Contractor, which I use on a non-profit basis on building projects for the community. Over the years I've overseen the building of a large church, individual homes, handicap accessibility modifications, innumerable dog houses, and trouble-shooting problems with just about every building system, from metal building erection to plumbing, electrical, sound and video systems, and HVAC, often with architects and other engineers.In my free time I love animals, history, photography, horology, and helping others. I have many more stories to tell, which I would be happy to share at any local coffee shop!