J.D. Mather

Faculty
Engineering & Industrial Design Technology

He’s a born maker. From creating imaginative forts as a kid to perfecting advanced CAD techniques as an adult, J.D.’s talent for design continues to grow, awe his students, and amaze the world via his YouTube channel.

TAKING THE LEAD

Q&A with J.D.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE ENGINEERING DESIGN?

At Penn College, we are hands-on applications oriented. We use CAD design tools that have a theoretical foundation built into the software. We follow an iterative loop series of steps to create functional products and the process tooling used to create those products.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST BECOME INTERESTED IN ENGINEERING DESIGN?

My dad ran a construction business out of our family home. His tools and leftover construction materials were my toys growing up. Dad built several of the homes in our rural neighborhood. When I was 7 or 8, I took leftover materials and built a scruffy fort. At the same time, I watched my older brother – he was 17 or 18 – build a fully framed lake cabin from repurposed scraps. I was impressed and hooked on building things.

WHY ARE YOU SO PASSIONATE ABOUT ENGINEERING DESIGN?

To me, engineering design is like working out a crossword puzzle, except with geometry in 3D rather than words. So I get to play with 3D geometry puzzles all day.

ARE THERE COMMON TRAITS YOU'VE RECOGNIZED IN SUCCESSFUL ENGINEERING DESIGN STUDENTS?

I often use mechanism examples that I have seen on the TV show, “How It’s Made.” When I mentioned at the start of a lecture where I had gotten the topic, I was surprised when a student chimed in, “That is my favorite show.” I thought maybe it was an anomaly, but now it has happened year after year.

WHAT MAKES THE ENGINEERING DESIGN TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM AT PENN COLLEGE UNIQUE?

Over the years, I have attended a lot of professional conferences as a speaker and have talked to many instructors at other schools. I have also heavily participated in online professional forums with over 50,000 posts. Based on these interactions, we have emphasized certifications for students and faculty. I doubt there is any other school with as many CSWA, CSWP, AutoCAD and Inventor Professional certified students. Our students know the ANSI standards, and they know mechanism simulation.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CLASS TO TEACH AND WHY?

That is a bit like asking a parent who their favorite child is. My favorite class is one that I haven’t taught in five years – the freshman sequence. There is more growth evidenced in that sequence than any other year. Pressed to pick just one that I am currently teaching, I would have to say the junior level Finite Element Analysis class. Years ago, this class was the hurdle that caused many to reconsider their choice of major. Using modern analysis tools and relevant exercises, I would say it is now the easiest class in the major.

Real-World Ready

CAD Whisperer

In 22 years of teaching at Penn College, J.D. has accumulated many titles. Assistant professor of engineering design technology. Master Teacher. Autodesk Inventor Certified Expert. Certified SolidWorks Professional. And CAD Whisperer, a title he recently earned from his YouTube tutorials.