Profession: Engineer/Designer

Number of times previously entering contest: 2

Favorite design and analysis tools: Solidworks and Matlab

Inspired by: What inspires me is to build cool stuff. I've designed heliostats where 550 mirrors focus onto a block of aluminum to heat water, to walking robots, to converting tractors to electric, to trying out machine learning. The rush starting a project that requires and entirely new set of skills never stops being exhilarating.
What inspires my designs is the K.I.S.S. principle. and Occam's razor. I love to optimize designs and see how simple I can make something. There is a pervasive culture in engineering to over-complicate designs (and I admit they make for cool ideas), but I get my gratification from seeing what I can remove rather than what I can add.
And to hear from others working or repairing the machines I design, that the little quality of life changes I made to make their lives easier, also helps.