Tyron Pretorius

Holding my 1st 3D printed prototype of the ergonomic water pitcher that I designed to make lifting, pouring, and carrying liquids easier for children and the elderly.

Something that is totally outside the box with its design so that it not only looks unique but more importantly is better able to carry out its function and achieve its goal as a result.

I like to stay in touch with the IDEA Center at my alma mater Notre Dame who as well as commercializing university and student IP also commercialize and aid local startups working on a broad range of topics. In particular, I attend their yearly weeklong celebration of entrepreneurship, "IDEA Week", where they have events, guest speakers, a business plan presentation competition, and a startup showcase that keeps me up to date with the latest trends as well as showing me new ones.

As a mechanical engineer and designer, I really appreciate creative designs and solutions for problems that are simple yet effective, especially if they give me ideas for my own designs or if they spark my creation train, giving me the inspiration for a whole new idea.

During my mechanical engineering undergraduate, I took a yearlong project in universal design focusing on improving the successful aging process and I am now working on an ergonomic water pitcher design that was dreamt up during this project. As a result, I keep on the lookout for other assistive device products and associated trends relating to the elderly.

I'm a big fan of using alliteration to give a post a smooth, well-polished title and to help with the flow of sentences within the body. I also enjoy using startling facts to get people's attention and guide them into a paragraph.

I like to take long walks to clear my mind and then allow my mind to enter a wandering mode where I just let my thoughts flow freely from one to the next. Oftentimes if a thought happens to be linked to work it gets me thinking in a new way to either solve a problem I was having or presents a new opportunity entirely.

Creative and clever people like Bill Gates and Elon Musk who are using their foresight and status to change the world around us for the better.