Tim Jones

About Tim

Tim Jones is a fifth year at the University of Cincinnati, scheduled to graduate in May of 2019.  He is majoring in Mechanical Engineering.  Tim and his teammates are working on the Butt Brake Challenge.  For this Challenge, the team has been tasked with developing a hydraulic braking system for an upright road bicycle that can be actuated by the rider's butt.  The Challenger is an Army Veteran who has nerve damage in her hands and is unable to squeeze the brake levers on the handlebars.  With guidance from Scott Moro from the Adaptive Cycling Foundation, they are developing a device where she will be able to slide back on her bike seat and engage the brakes.

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Why did you choose your major? When I was growing up, I was fascinated with construction and anything that moved.  My grandfather, also a Mechanical Engineer and UC alum, would take me down to watch the Reds stadium being built on his lunch break when I was younger.  My passions for math, science, and cool things that move have never gone away, and naturally, I followed in my grandfather's footsteps as a Mechanical Engineer at the University of Cincinnati.

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‍Describe your experience working with QL+ so far.  What is the biggest challenge?  What has been rewarding?  Working with QL+ has been an absolute pleasure so far.  They have gone above and beyond to provide us with resources to help us develop a functioning butt brake for our Challenger.  The biggest challenge so far has been that the braking system is hydraulic rather than cable.  We are trying to make the butt brake easy to replicate so this design can help not just our challenger, but many others down the road.  The most rewarding thing is knowing that we are allowing someone to get back on a bike and giving them the freedom that they fought for us to have.  As an avid cyclist, I know the peace and joy that can come from riding a bike so to give that back to someone means a lot to me.

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What would you say to other students about QL+? QL+ is an organization that finds meaningful engineering problems for students to solve to make disabled veteran's lives a little more ordinary.  If you want to build or create something that has the potential to change an individual's life, this is an organization to partner with.

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What are your plans after graduation? After graduation, I will be moving to Orlando, Florida to work with Garney Construction as a Project Engineer.  Garney specializes in the construction of water and wastewater treatment facilities.

What has been the proudest moment of your college career?

My proudest moment came slightly before college when I told my grandfather that I would be following his footsteps and going to the University of Cincinnati to pursue Mechanical Engineering.

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What three words best describe you? Adventurous. Hard working. Loving.