Ben:What am I doing?

I’ve often promised to tell people what I’m doing. Here it is.

Texas Mathworks Alumni Network: In the summers I work with an organization called Texas Mathworks which runs math camps for middle school and high school students and develops innovative math curriculum at the junior high level. They’ve been running a summer program for high school students for 18 years, but have kept in touch with very few alumni. I’m taking a user-oriented approach to developing this alumni association so that it will be something that is useful to all parties involved. So far it has been a lot of research and interviewing.

Umbrella Labs Coffee Roaster: Several of my classmates started a company this summer called Umbrella Labs. Essentially, Umbrella Labs is a product design firm. Our first product is a computer controlled coffee roaster which gives home coffee roasters additional power over their coffee roasting. I’ve been focusing on the user end of this design, identifying what features are necessary, and learning about home coffee roasters.

The Foundry@1795: As president of OEG (Olin Entrepreneurship Group), I’ve been working closely with a few classmates to help develop the Foundry, Olin’s student business incubator. We are especially looking to help it grow over the next few years. So far it’s been a good deal of strategic planning. We hope to have a business plan for the organization by the end of the semester.

IdeaTree Design:Last semester, I cofounded IdeaTree Design, a socially conscious engineering design firm. Over the summer, three students spent a huge amount of time working on the concept, and this semester I am leading a design project working with a group called Helping Hands. This project has really just started and will be engulfing more of my life in the weeks to come

Flash Conference: Last semester, Matt and I worked to put together the first ever “Flash Conference” at Olin. This was a weekend long design conference which brought students from across Boston together to spend time developing new appropriate technologies. This semester there is another one planned for this upcoming month and while I am not in charge of it, I’ve agreed to help out in considerable ways.

Barista-ing: Perhaps this should not go on here as an “official” project, but in working on this coffee roaster, I’ve become increasingly interested in coffee. As a result, I’ve purchased an espresso machine and a grinder and am really getting in to making and drinking coffee. Over the next few months, I hope to become a better barista, because that’d just be sweet.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten some, and I’m sure more will come up later.