Hi there, I’m Eric. I build things and I talk to people.
Professionally, I’m a mechanical engineer, with a particular love for thoughtful product development and high-temperature equipment (design problems get a lot more interesting above 2000F). I currently work at Boston Metal, designing and building furnaces to develop a molten oxide electrolysis process and create zero-carbon green steel from electricity. I also founded and run the Salamander Tool Company, which builds high temperature tools and equipment for the studio glass community.
On my own time, I’m both a metalworker and glassblower. I have spent over a decade welding, machining, and fabricating metal, and doing both torch & furnace work with soda-lime glass. I particularly love exploring and utilizing the chemistry of glass, formulating and melting different glass bodies. You can see some of that work here.
I also enjoy software and programming, especially writing code to interact with the physical world. I primarily code in python, often tying together some assortment of sensors, motors, & relays. In the past I’ve made things like a motion-controlled lamp, homebrew PID temperature controller, desktop CNC router, clay-extruding 3D printer, and an IoT device for remotely monitoring glassblowing furnaces. I love finding opportunities to use software as a lever against tough physical problems.