Jimmy Ringsby, Mechanical Engineer
WHY ARE YOU A MECHANICAL AND SYSTEMS ENGINEER?
I’ve always loved making things with my hands so mechanical engineering felt like a natural choice when I first got to college. I’ve always been interested in the intersections between design and engineering. In fact, before I was interested in being an engineer I considered architecture. I like the idea of building structures and mechanisms and machines which have equally impressive form and function.
WHAT DREW YOU TO SOULO?
I was drawn to Soulo by the idea of working on a novel concept. The exciting part about product design is that nobody has ever done what you are doing and there are no bounds to what you might make. I like working under this kind of uncertainty, and Soulo provides a great avenue for that. Plus, Soulo is making a real impact! Soulo products are changing the lives of people with mobility limitations.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF YOUR JOB AT SOULO?
Thus far, my most memorable work at Soulo has been interacting with our clients. Being able to show the user what new concepts we’ve been working on, getting their initial reactions, and seeing how excited they are about the product is really invaluable.
SHOW US A PICTURE OF YOUR DESK AND EXPLAIN WHY IT LOOKS THE WAY IT DOES.
My desk is generally pretty empty as I don’t do much work from home, and it’s quite small. However, I typically have a few essentials on hand. These include: books I never plan on reading, my computer, my AirPods, an aesthetically pleasing magazine spread, and a ruler.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE GADGET THAT YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT?
My favorite gadget would definitely be my garmin watch. This watch tracks all my health metrics like VO2max and resting heart rate. It’s great for a Colorado summer in the mountains!
WHO IS AN OLDER ADULT IN YOUR LIFE WHO HAS BEEN AN INSPIRATION TO YOU?
My grandmother Ruth [Gigi] has always been a big inspiration to me. She has always been my ideal of what it means to be a strong, independent person who sticks up for themselves. She is kind and loving but also stoic and dependable – something I definitely admire and aspire to be.
TELL US ABOUT A TIME THAT YOU OVERCAME A DIFFICULT ENGINEERING CHALLENGE.
An engineering design challenge I recently tackled was designing a portable, adjustable table meant to be used outdoors. One particularly confusing feature to design were the adjustable feet. The feet of the table needed to have multiple degrees of freedom to align with the slope of the surface they were on. They also needed to be able to handle irregularities like rocks or undulations. To overcome this, we designed a compliant lattice structure which could bend and flex to match the surface of any terrain.
