Designing the Future

It was an inventive modular pour-over coffee machine introduced at Jefferson’s undergraduate Industrial Design program’s senior capstone presentations this spring that caught the eye of alum Colin Eggert-Crowe, MS ’17.

A product development manager at Iron Mountains, a design and engineering firm in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, that specializes in the juvenile industry, with baby gear such as car seats and strollers as the primary product focus, he had recently become involved in recruiting and was looking for bright new talent.

It was only natural that for his last two hires he returned to his alma mater. “I saw a number of really talented presentations and was able to get a quick understanding of the capability of the students coming out of the program,” he says. He hired the coffee machine’s creator, 2026 graduate Kolby Ritter, straight out of school. “Everyone was also just blown away by his talent, and the program prepared him and gave him the opportunities to grow.”

Eggert-Crowe, who graduated from Drexel University with an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, had always wanted to go into consumer product development. After a year in the industrial machinery field, he became intrigued with industrial design. “It was a perfect combination of engineering and art,” he says.

Thomas Jefferson University’s (then Philadelphia University’s) Master of Industrial Design program had recently been ranked one of the best on the East Coast. Eager to expand his knowledge base and capabilities, Eggert-Crowe enrolled.

He found the hands-on, real-world experience and opportunities invaluable, and appreciated the chance to work with companies to solve specific problems and uncover new insights.

“I was exposed to new tools, product types and testing, problem-solving approaches, and manufacturing processes,” he shares. “I left with the ability to perform user research, dissect a problem that an industry, company, or population of users is having, and then get creative in how I extract and address those insights and turn that into a manufacturable, scalable product.”

Eggert-Crowe began his career at Iron Mountains in 2017 as an associate design engineer, working part-time halfway through his master’s program. He later moved up into the roles of design engineer, followed by project leader and his role today as product development manager, where he manages several designer engineers and works with the company’s chief development officer.

Industrial design at Jefferson sits at the intersection of art and engineering, a harmonious blend of humanities and art with STEM and business. Here, a student’s educational journey transcends far beyond the confines of the classroom or lecture hall. Content is taught in the context of projects and the process of design. While some programs may concentrate specifically on manufacturing and technology and others on product aesthetics, a well-calibrated balance incorporating both is a key differentiator for Jefferson’s undergraduate and graduate industrial design programs.

As human needs and society continue to evolve, so too does the field of industrial design. The University puts its students squarely in focus, ensuring that its leading-edge curriculum is not only synchronized with current industry demands, but also anticipates the evolution of the industry by empowering its students to nimbly and skillfully adapt to meet — and master — the future with skill, creativity, innovation, and confidence. While what they learn may not initially be relevant to their work, they are being taught skills that will serve them for the entirety of their career, rather than just their first job — or even the first day in their role.

The role of the industrial designer continues to be critical because of the ever-changing nature of technology, society, economy, and business models. “You have to be able to look at your career and at what you’re designing as a kind of ‘applied futurism’ and know where the world is going in order to, as Wayne Gretzky said, ‘skate to where the puck is going to be rather than where it is,’” says professor Tod Corlett, the program’s director and William L. Jasper Chair.

Jefferson students learn that all of their initial questions must always be accompanied by follow- up inquiries — and that there is never simply one answer. “We’re equipping the students with the mindset to constantly seek new knowledge and new possible solutions, as the explanation that you used two years ago may not be applicable now,” says associate professor Eric Schneider.

From manufacturing to automotive to healthcare, from Google to Nike to Meta, Jefferson industrial design alumni can be found across the business spectrum. “The fact that employers out there feel that our students have those skills right out of school is the best feedback that we could possibly have that our curriculum is doing what it was designed to do,” says Corlett.

Both current and former students rave about Schneider’s influence and impact on their educational and career journeys — and their relationship doesn’t stop at graduation. “When asked which class they learned the most from or value the most, invariably they say professor Schneider’s,” shares Eggert-Crowe. “He is the throughline.”

Jeffersonians Climbing the Iron Mountains
Jefferson and Iron Mountains have built a positive, collaborative, and mutually beneficial relationship. In addition to Eggert-Crowe’s recruiting visits to Jefferson’s campus, this past spring Schneider and his students took a field trip to Morgantown and paid a visit to Iron Mountains.

“It’s not only a great recruiting tool for us,” says Eggert-Crowe. “It gives students the ability to see how others are using this degree, its options, and practical applications.”

Currently, three Jefferson alumni are part of his Iron Mountains team. “I see a noticeable difference in students coming from Jefferson,” Eggert- Crowe shares. “They have done a uniquely good job of preparing students for this role — in design, design thinking, creativity, and engineering. There are a variety of real-world applications.”

Julia Ponzek, MS ’24, joined Iron Mountains in 2024 as an associate design engineer. For her thesis project, in collaboration with Jefferson occupational therapy students, she created a motorized, electronic reacher assistive device for patients suffering from fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, a rare, debilitating genetic condition where bones gradually replace muscle and connective tissue.

“Over the course of a year, I was able to regularly meet with the OT students to show them progress on the design and prototypes,” she says. “I also had the opportunity to share prototypes with members of the International Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva Association which gave me invaluable real-world insights into uses for the device.”

Ritter also came on board as associate design engineer following his successful capstone presentation. His integrated coffee machine, DuoBrew, includes a hand grinder, kettle, and scale, and will heat and pour water, all at the push of a button.

“Through prototyping, presenting design solutions, conducting user research, and evaluating manufacturing considerations, I learned to think critically, iterate quickly, and adapt my designs based on feedback and real-world constraints,” he shares.

“The Jefferson difference is doing,” Eggert-Crowe says. “It’s the sense of try things, do things, make things work, make things not work, fail, and try again. When you graduate, you know what you’re doing and you understand the real meaning of the things that you’ve learned, how you can use them, who values them, and how you can apply them in a way that will make the life that you want fulfilling.”