BRUCE ANDERSON

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Originally published in the fall 2007 newsletter of The Works

Bruce Anderson makes cool things that work beautifully:   a giant waterwheel, a china cabinet with hand-made stained-glass doors, a trebuchet with a 20 foot sapling as the lever arm.  Actually, his sons Chad and Wade built the trebuchet but you can bet Bruce had something to do with it. 

Bruce has also made three awesome exhibits at The Works:  Pedal Pusher, Light Pipe and Strobe Stream.  Pedal Pusher is a pneumatic or air powered bike with wooden legs that you can move at the hip and knee.  Get the right sequence and timing and the wheels spin.  Bruce’s wife, Karen came up with the name “Pedal Pusher.”  Light Pipe demonstrates a seemingly magical property of light that enables a beam to bounce down a moving waterfall or (in the practical world) along a fiber optic cable.  Strobe Stream uses a strobe light and two pulsing streams of water to show the mesmerizing shapes that result when gleaming globs of water collide. 

Note:  Since this profile was published in 2007, Bruce has also designed and built a rugged re-make of the Raceway, which instantly became a favorite of The Works visitors, and is always surrounded by eager kids testing out Knex vehicles.      

Bruce has a quiet way of taking a problem, chewing it over, trying something out, adjusting, adapting, and eventually coming up with a rugged and elegant solution.  When he was building Light Pipe, he wanted a knob where kids could adjust the angle of a mirror reflecting a laser beam, but not wreck the mirror through over zealous turning.  After studying the problem, he invented a clever lever linkage to solve the problem.  Pedal Pusher entailed a tricky process of adjusting the wooden legs, plus tackling pneumatic control (with expert help from Willis Bowman.)

Bruce’s thoughtful way of building results in having just what you need, just where you need it,  ready before you even think you need it.  Light Pipe is a very heavy exhibit that must be moved periodically to refill the water.  Bruce built hidden handles that can be pushed out, so that the exhibit can be rolled easily on hidden castors.  There’s also a handy valve for draining the tanks, and a tube to connect for draining placed conveniently nearby.  The result is exhibits that the staff as well as our visitors love.   

Bruce is a pipefitter by trade;  Pipefitters design and build the systems of pipes, tubes and other shapes that bring the heat from boilers, furnaces, etc. to just where you need it.   Not an engineer?  "No," Bruce laughs, "I was born to be an engineer, but I never became one."  Well, judging by the projects he tackles and achieves, this guy definitely deserves the rank of Honorary Engineer.  Certainly, he’s a valued volunteer at The Works.  Thank you, Bruce Anderson!

p.s.  Bruce also created one of my favorite definitions of engineering:  Engineering is knowing how to put things together to make something you need.  

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ROY BEWICK

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(originally published in the Spring 2010 newsletter of The Works) 

Imagine two huge engines, big enough to climb inside, driving a big wooden ship, a Navy mine sweeper.  Nothing on the ship, including the engine, can be magnetic, or it will set off the explosive mines.   So the engines are made of aluminum, which works, but they’re delicate, finicky.  The Navy is having trouble keeping them going. 

Roy Bewick, a young mechanical engineer fresh from officer training is put in charge.  “I did two things,” Roy recalls.  “I made sure that my crew had the instruction manual and a torque wrench in hand before they went to work.   And I made them proud to be there.”    Roy and his team get the engines running reliably, then soup them up.  Roy has the engine valve covers and air cleaners chrome plated, and polished.  His ship becomes the most reliable one in the squadron. His crew even rebuilds a damaged engine on the open sea, keeping the ship moving, in formation, using only one roaring engine.

Roy & wife Rosanna explore Transmissions

Looking back, Roy credits his grandfather, a railroad section chief, for instilling a love of machines and the pride of a thorough job.  His father and teachers encouraged him too. “In those days we were taught that we were masters of the universe.  That we could – that it was our responsibility to – remake the world to make it better.”   

After the Navy, Roy worked for 3M for 31 years.  One of his favorite achievements there was building a factory in Italy to manufacture the polyester film used for magnetic tapes and X-ray films.  Roy’s staff designed and built custom machines longer than a basketball court to extrude and stretch molten chemicals into giant sheets of clear plastic, thinner than a human hair. 

Now retired and living in Italy, Roy builds elegant and rugged mechanical exhibits for The Works, including the popular Simple Transmission and the reversing Dog Clutch.  He just brought us a new exhibit on Gear Trains; come visit The Works to see what that means! 

What drives him?  “It’s the satisfaction of seeing something emerge from a block of metal, or a pile of parts.”   Plus the pride of a master engineer in making something work, then improving it.  “The best thing I ever built, if I did it again, I’d do it better. “  Roy grins. “That’s the challenge, that’s what makes engineering fun.”  

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DON CRAIGHEAD

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(originally published as a tribute to Don in the Fall 2009 issue of In The Works)

Long before Facebook, or even the internet, Don Craighead became a one man social network and force for good in Minnesota’s technology community. 

It all started with popcorn balls, in Kindergarten. “The other kids sold one or two,” Don recounts.  “I said ‘Give me a case’ and I sold them all.”

Don’s moxie, vision, drive and smarts have taken him far.  After graduating the U of M’s rigorous mechanical engineering program, he launched a company called Powermation, on his family’s ping pong table.  Then and now, Powermation promises innovative automation solutions and exceptional customer service.  “We weren’t just selling them equipment,” Don explained.  “We were there to figure out what the problem was, what the customer was really trying to get done.  And they knew, they knew we’d never, ever leave them in the lurch.”  Don laughs.  “Take very good care of your customer,” he advises, “and it’ll come back to you.”  

As Powermation prospered, Don took an early “retirement” and began a second career as champion of Minnesota’s technology industry.   He joined The Works’ Board of Trustees many years back, and has been an invaluable advisor and advocate through thick and thin.  Any conversation with Don is peppered with advice on what’s going on and who’s doing what.  He’ll hand you their business cards too, to make sure you connect.  Don has single-handedly introduced The Works to hundreds of interesting people. 

That's Don on the right.  Alas, he is not wearing his famous orange jacket.

The Works is one of many causes that benefit from Don’s big heart and business card re-distribution system.    Competition is a stupid word, he says.  “We’re all in this together.”  Then, more quietly, he adds, “Give, Give.  Don’t try to keep score.”   

Thank you, Don Craighead, for your many gifts to Minnesota's technology community and to many lucky nonprofit organizations.

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JOHN PEARSON

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This profile originally published summer 2005 in The Works' newsletter

One summer, when John Pearson was a teenager, he built a redwood motorboat to explore the waters of Balsam Lake.  Not content to look only above water, he rigged up a diving helmet using a 5 gallon pail, hefty piece of glass, sash weights and an air pump.  The next project was an airplane – a high winged monoplane with a 4 cylinder motorcycle engine and doped muslin wings.  After flying that around a few times, John and a friend took the wings off, added skis and turned it into a unique but quite functional propeller-driven snowmobile.

70 years later, John Pearson is still snowmobiling.  And still an active, master builder.

John Pearson (r) and his friend Roy Bewick (l) install the pulley exhibit.

John builds elegant, robust exhibits ... six and counting!  The newest exhibit at The Works is John’s creation.  With many hours of garage-based winter welding, John and his friend Roy Bewick have transformed The Works’ popular Pulley Power exhibit into a rugged and reliable demonstration of mechanical advantage.  John also crafted one of the first exhibits at The Works – Stage Lights – and four others:  Amazing Mirrors, Pivot Power, Bend the Beams and the Giant Zipper.

 “The key is to be curious always,”   says John.  “Develop a strong curiosity about everything, not just in a narrow field.”  By taking extra courses,  John became a registered engineer in both mechanical and chemical engineering.  His first professional job, at 3M, became a distinguished 43 year career, ranging from an early stint in the prolific ProFab Lab to appointment as Vice President of Development.

John’s range of knowledge is awe inspiring, and very handy.  He has served on The Works’ Board of Trustees for 9 years, and has been a crucial source of insight into business strategy, manufacturing, mechanisms, materials, chemistry, physics, finance and more.  John is also a quiet but persistent model of high standards, unflinching reflection and dogged determination.   By personal example, John has inspired The Works to pick something doable, get it done (no excuses!) and do it well.

Kids enjoy the Lift Your Friend exhibit 
that John attached to the pulley exhibit.

John believes deeply in hands-on learning and puts his hands, heart and brains behind this commitment.  John’s work building a world-class engineering program at the University of Wisconsin-Stout was recognized there by an honorary doctorate in 2003.  The Works continues to benefit tremendously from his masterful exhibits, sage counsel, wry humor and unfailing generosity.  Thank you John Pearson, valued volunteer.    #

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