Bryce Strauss' AI-driven Nominal transforms defense tech with HBS expertise

I have just presented two sessions with engineering and business students at Newcastle college, introducing them to TRIZ, structured problem solving and the use of AI with this approach. It is always a privilege to introduce young people to the methods I have been using for 30 years and hear the questions they ask about how the techniques could be applied to the projects they are working on. Even the lecturers will get in on the act talking about their experience of problems that they have encountered and how these techniques would have helped. These methods have been around for a long time and I am still surprised it is still relatively unknown or has fallen by the wayside in many organisations. I look forward to returning in the future to see more students and sew the seed of interest to help them in their journey as engineers. Thank you to David Harrison and the engineering team for making this happen.

#Creativity is teachable. As a #Capstone instructor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida, my charges are reminding students that engineering is a creative discipline and helping them rediscover creativity often lost through prescriptive coursework. I recently came across an exceptional great article by Keith Sawyer in The MIT Press Reader: "Is Creativity a Young Person’s Game?" 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ekGJPuN2 A few takeaways to live by: 1) Breakthrough ideas emerge during periods of high output — quantity leads to quality. 2) Creative ideas only matter when you put them into the world. 3) Don’t overinvest in a single idea; place multiple bets. 4) Creativity expands through cross-generational cooperation. Collaborators of different ages contribute different strengths. What creativity practices have worked for you? #EngineeringEducation | #DesignThinking

When DJI CEO Frank Wang’s undergraduate project failed, most would have turned him away. But Professor Li Zexiang, a leading innovator in China’s engineering education, recognised his potential and took him under his wing. Han Yong May, deputy editor-in-chief of SPH’s Chinese Media Group, sits down with Li as part of Lianhe Zaobao’s Future 365 interview series, to find out how his new engineering education system is building a new generation of engineers. Full story here: https://lnkd.in/gsB6zXyk #China #Technology #DJI #Education #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #Robotics #ThinkChina

What changes when students move from theory to building? You begin to see a shift. Not immediately — but clearly over time. Students who were once focused on getting the “right answers” start asking better questions: • “Can this be built differently?” • “Can we improve this design?” • “What if we test another approach?” That shift is what real engineering looks like. Through our work with @African University of Science and Technology (AUST), we are starting to create more opportunities for students to experience this transition — from learning concepts to applying them in real, physical ways. Because the moment a student moves from: Design → Prototype everything changes. They begin to understand: • why precision matters • why designs fail • how materials behave in the real world • how ideas evolve through iteration And most importantly — they begin to build confidence. Confidence to experiment. Confidence to fail and try again. Confidence to create. This is how engineers become innovators. And when this mindset spreads across a generation of students, the impact goes far beyond the classroom — it begins to influence how industries grow and how economies evolve. We are just at the beginning of this journey, but the direction is clear. The future belongs to those who learn by building. #Engineering #Innovation #Manufacturing #Nigeria #Makers #Education #DigitalFabrication

Inaugural Kennedy Lecture 2026 - UCL Department of Mechanical Engineering UCL Mechanical Engineering is delighted to invite academics, researchers, and students to the inaugural Kennedy Lecture, featuring Dr Andrew Lynn PhD FREng: “Past Performance Is Not Indicative of Future Results: What Two Decades Running Deep-Tech and Life-Science Spinouts Have Taught This Engineer” Behind every deep‑tech spinout is a non‑linear story of timing, friction, and hard‑won lessons. Drawing on over 20 years of experience building and scaling venture-backed companies, Dr Lynn will share practical insights on navigating uncertainty, raising capital in a tougher climate, and translating academic innovation into real-world impact.    In his talk Dr Lynn will address:  - How to recognise when a technology is “good enough”  - How to build teams that thrive under uncertainty - How to raise capital when investors have become far more selective. His lessons come not only from successful exits and industry adoption, but also from the pivots, near‑misses, and failures that clarified what does not work.   📅 Wednesday 25 March (5:00 PM - 6:00 PM) 📍 Roberts Engineering Building, LT106, UCL 🥂 Followed by a canape and drinks reception   Whether you’re exploring entrepreneurship, working on translational research, or curious about the realities of deep-tech innovation, this lecture offers valuable perspectives from both successes and setbacks. 👉 Secure your place via Eventbrite now: https://lnkd.in/eeKMRNZ7 📢 Feel free to share with colleagues and students who would benefit from this conversation #UCL #DeepTech #Entrepreneurship #Engineering #Innovation #Academia #Startups

I’m honored that the University of New South Wales (UNSW) featured my “Phases of Team Development” in its AERO4110 Aerospace Design 2 course, taught by Dr. Sonya A Brown. UNSW is a leading global research university based in Sydney, Australia. It's a member of Australia’s Group of Eight coalition of research-intensive universities and is widely recognized for excellence in engineering, technology, business, and the sciences. It consistently ranks among the top universities globally. AERO4110 Aerospace Design 2 is an advanced aerospace engineering course offered through the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at UNSW Sydney. It focuses on the design and development of aerospace systems, emphasizing engineering analysis, collaborative design processes, and the application of multidisciplinary principles to aerospace engineering projects. My “Phases of Team Development” intellectual property on teamwork tradecraft provides diagnostic and strategic guidance for navigating team dynamics. Leaders can apply the actionable insights to help overcome challenges and advance the effectiveness and success of teams. I periodically update it. The 2026 edition covers both human and human-AI teams — including the “exotic team dynamics” which emerge with advanced AI (agentic, autonomous, or autopoietic) collaborates as a teammate. Businesses, professional associations, government agencies, universities, and others around the world use my respective work. In addition to UNSW, examples include Adobe, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Bayer, Boston University, Broadcom, Cisco, DevOps Institute, Finland Government, Hasso-Plattner-Institut für Digital Engineering GmbH, IEEE, Johns Hopkins University, Journal of Neurosurgery, Microsoft, New Zealand Government, Oracle, Technical University of Munich, U.S. National Park Service, University of California San Diego, Yale University, and many more. Explore the details in my new article at: https://lnkd.in/gZApFn2C UNSW Engineering | UNSW Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering #Aerospace #Innovation #Teamwork #Leadership

A single sheet of paper does not look like the beginning of an engineering lesson. Yet in the hands of John Collins, it became exactly that. Collins — widely known as “The Paper Airplane Guy” — designed the aircraft that flew 69 metres in 2012, setting the world record for paper aeroplane distance. The glider, named Suzanne, travelled almost the length of a football field. But the record is not the most interesting part. What Collins demonstrates is how quickly curiosity can ignite when science becomes physical and immediate. A folded sheet of paper introduces a child to lift, drag, balance and gravity. Change the wing angle, adjust the folds, throw differently — and the result changes. Without realising it, the child begins experimenting. Education researchers have long observed that early exposure to hands-on science strongly influences whether children develop lasting interest in engineering and technical fields. When young learners build, test and adjust objects themselves, they develop habits of inquiry, experimentation and persistence. They learn that the physical world responds to careful thinking. That shift is powerful. A child stops being a spectator and starts asking questions. Why did that one glide further? Why did the other stall? What happens if we change the wings? Curiosity begins to drive the process. John Collins spends much of his time working with schools precisely because the barrier to entry is almost nonexistent. A sheet of paper. A few folds. A throw across the room. From that point, imagination takes over. For companies like Avlock International, this idea resonates deeply. Manufacturing and engineering depend on people who are curious about how things work — people who want to test ideas, improve designs and understand forces that cannot be seen but can always be measured. The path into engineering rarely begins with complex machines. More often it begins with something simple enough for a child to hold in their hands — and the moment they realise they can change how it behaves. #InspiringCuriosity #FutureEngineers #HandsOnScience #STEMEducation #AvlockInnovation

One of the biggest misconceptions in building deep tech is thinking you only need great engineering. You don’t. You need alignment between two very different axes: Technical execution and strategic leverage. On the technical side, you need people who can take a concept and make it survive reality mechanical stability, electromagnetic behavior, thermal limits, manufacturing constraints. That’s where most ideas fail. But even the strongest engineering doesn’t move without the right ecosystem. That’s where strategic operators come in individuals who understand how to position innovation, unlock capital, and connect it to the right networks to actually scale. In working on the Magen Drive, this distinction has become very clear. It’s not just about building a better motor. It’s about building the right combination of people around it: • Engineers who can make it real • Partners who can take it to market Both are non-negotiable. Real innovation doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens when the right capabilities meet at the right time. #DeepTech #Innovation #Engineering #Startups #ElectricMotors #Leadership Sandile Ndlovu Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Atlantis Special Economic Zone Thabelo Ratshihule Keet van Zyl Tesla

🚀 From Curiosity to Clarity — Building a Knowledge Hub for Engineers & Thinkers Most people scroll. A few stop and think. Even fewer decide to build something meaningful. I chose the third path. Over the past few months, I’ve been consistently working on my blog — a space where I break down complex topics into simple, structured insights. From defense technology and geopolitics to engineering concepts and emerging innovations, the goal is simple: 👉 Make high-level thinking accessible 👉 Connect engineering with real-world systems 👉 Build a mindset, not just knowledge This is not just content — it's a long-term knowledge asset. If you're someone who: • Thinks beyond textbooks • Wants to understand how systems actually work • Is interested in defense tech, engineering, and global strategy Then you’ll find value here. 🔗 Explore the blog: https://lnkd.in/g_vzf7Pr Consistency > Virality Depth > Noise Let’s build something that actually matters. 💯

𝗪𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟬 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. At one of my previous jobs we were developing plasma drilling technology. Genuinely frontier stuff - 𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙢𝙖 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙠 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙨. The milestones were clear: achieve X performance by Y date. The plan was logical: run experiments, iterate, hit the numbers. So we ran experiments. 𝗔 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺. A high volume, thorough test matrices. We had engineers and scientists pushing prototypes through test after test after test. And nobody was slacking - 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚. More tests, more data, more iterations. That’s how you solve hard problems, right? 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲. The results didn’t follow the test matrix. They didn’t follow the project plan. The improvements came slowly, unpredictably and in a rhythm that had nothing to do with our Gantt chart. When something didn’t work, the instinct was to push harder. Run more tests. Try new materials. Adjust the process. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 - 𝘯𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨. That’s what grit looks like. That’s what every startup book tells you to do. 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘖𝘶𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮. But looking back years later, I see something I couldn’t see at the time: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀. 𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴. The money should have gone into even better infrastructure and sensorics, 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴, rather than being pushed into deliveries of yet another batch of tests. Not because the team wasn’t good enough. But because at some point we were optimising for volume when we should have been optimising for insight. I only understood this looking backwards, after years of working in other environments where the same pattern kept showing up. The pressure to hit milestones creates an incentive to run more experiments. But in physics-based development, running 200 poorly understood tests teaches you less than running 20 with the right sensors and the right analysis. 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦. It reveals itself on its own schedule. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝘂𝘀𝗵 𝗶𝘁. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀. No blame. No regrets. Just a lesson that took years to fully land: 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽-𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵, 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. #deeptech #engineering #startups #lessonlearned