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My Story
My Story
My name is Carson Pazdan, and I’m originally from Barrington, IL. I was drawn to Duke by its remarkably talented and spirited student body, its culture of service, and, most specifically, the Innovation & Entrepreneurship program. I am majoring in biomedical engineering, minoring in neuroscience, and pursuing a certificate in Innovation & Entrepreneurship. I chose this combination because I want to develop medical technologies, particularly for neurological conditions, that can make a tangible difference in people’s lives. The I&E certificate has provided me with the tools to not only design innovative solutions but also bring them to market, ensuring that the technology reaches the people who need it most.
The I&E coursework has given me a practical understanding of how startups operate, from securing funding to making strategic decisions that drive a product across the finish line. These lessons enhance my engineering perspective, making me a more holistic problem solver, whether I work at a large company or a small startup. Inspired by this, I launched my own entrepreneurial venture, CrossRec, a cross-medium media recommendation app. Even in its early stages, conducting market research, user interviews, and feature development has been a highly rewarding experience I would not have pursued without the I&E certificate.
My summer internship with Blur Product Development further deepened my experience in medical device entrepreneurship. I worked closely with the team to make engineering design decisions aligned with business and user needs, gaining firsthand insight into how technical and entrepreneurial considerations intersect.
Ultimately, I hope to contribute to technologies that meaningfully improve, or even save, people’s lives, bringing solutions to problems in ways that might not have been imagined before.
Coursework
EGR101 introduced me to both the engineering design process and product design. My team was paired with a client and tasked with designing a containment system for nitrogen around an IV stand for use in Duke’s hyperbaric chambers, with the goal of preventing explosions. Through this project, I learned how to define design criteria, prototype effectively, and develop hands-on problem-solving skills, ultimately generating a novel solution to a real-world problem.
The I&E Keystone was my first exposure to business case studies. I gained valuable insight into market strategy by analyzing both highly successful and unsuccessful examples. The final project required us to develop a business venture based on the principles discussed throughout the semester. I was so inspired by my idea, CrossRec, that I have continued developing it with a few classmates beyond the course.
Product Management expanded on the design principles I learned in EGR101 and applied them to the ongoing maintenance and improvement of digital products. Most of my prior engineering experience involved building solutions from the ground up, but this class highlighted the importance of developing a minimum viable product, conducting user research, and iterating based on feedback. My final project culminated in pitching a feature improvement to Fetch Rewards, a receipt-reward app.
EGR101 gave me a grounded methodology for developing products that solve physical problems. I&E283 provided insights into creating and sustaining products based on user needs and market opportunities. I&E352 built on these foundations, emphasizing that design decisions cannot be made in isolation: they must be considered within a broader business context, including funding, management, and economic factors. Overall, this course progression has shaped my ability to design problem-solving products with a business-conscious mindset, which I hope will support my goal of developing life-changing medical technologies that can reach a wide audience.
Gateway: EGR101 Engineering Design & Communication
I&E Keystone: I&E 352 Strategies for Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Elective: I&E 283 Product Management
Blur Product Development
Blur Product Development
Description
For my 300-hour experience, I served as an engineering intern at Blur Product Development in Cary, NC during the summer after my sophomore year. Blur is a product development and contract manufacturing firm that specializes in guiding medical device concepts from initial design through market launch. I worked alongside engineers, designers, and regulatory experts on a range of electromechanical devices, biosensors, wearables, and more.
During my internship, I primarily focused on computer-aided design, coding, and component selection and verification for various medical devices. I also had the opportunity to sit in on client meetings, gaining insight into the business and user considerations that drive design decisions. This experience allowed me to develop as a business-conscious engineer, understanding not only technical challenges but also the entrepreneurial and regulatory factors that influence product development.
Blur’s approach emphasized user-centered design and regulatory compliance, giving me exposure to both innovation in established medical industries and entrepreneurship in the medical technology sector.
Reflection
One notable instance of innovation during my internship involved calibrating a sensing system in a novel device designed to heat blood during transfusions. The existing method was slow and inaccurate. I developed a solution using existing lab tools in an unconventional way: repurposing old water coolers and temperature chambers, disassembling and reassembling enclosures and electronics, writing automation code for calibration, and documenting the entire process in a user manual. This solution allowed both Blur and the client to reliably repeat the calibration, accelerating the device’s path to market.
I also experienced a significant failure: during testing, I improperly connected tubing, causing water to leak onto expensive electronics. It was a harsh but invaluable lesson: always exercise extreme care when working with expensive or delicate prototypes, particularly those that are not your own.
Overall, this internship taught me the importance of combining technical skill with business and user considerations, problem-solving creatively with limited resources, and maintaining meticulous attention to detail. My work product, the calibration manual, demonstrates innovative thinking in enabling a medical device to move efficiently toward commercialization.
BP-Water Cooler Automation Process-090824-172838 (1).pdf
The Viventi Lab
The Viventi Lab
Description
For my 150-hour experience, I served as an undergraduate research assistant in the Viventi Lab at Duke University during my sophomore and junior years. The Viventi Lab focuses on developing flexible electronics to create high-resolution interfaces with the brain, aiming to enhance our understanding of brain networks and improve treatments for neurological disorders such as epilepsy.
Throughout my tenure, I contributed to two major projects:
Encapsulation of sEEG Electrodes: I developed methods to encapsulate stereo-electrocorticography (sEEG) electrodes using liquid crystal polymer (LCP), a biocompatible and flexible material. This process aimed to create electrodes that could move more efficiently with the brain, reducing inflammation and infection risks associated with current rigid electrodes. I conducted experiments testing various processes for melting, pressing, and sealing electronics within LCP and developed an alignment jig to aid with testing. Through meticulous trial and error, I identified optimal temperature and pressure parameters for electrode encapsulation.
Helical Coiling of Electrode Leads: I worked on developing a system to tightly coil electrode leads at a constant pitch on the order of a few microns. Initially, I designed an electromechanical winding system inspired by fishing rod winders. However, challenges arose due to the small scale and manual handling required. Despite extensive research and multiple setup adjustments, I was unable to achieve the desired consistent pitch, leading to the project's discontinuation.
I chose to pursue this experience to deepen my understanding of biomedical research and contribute to innovative solutions in neural interfacing.
Reflection
Innovative Ideas: In the encapsulation project, I contributed to the lab’s broader effort to push the boundaries of neural interfacing by developing novel methods for packaging electrodes in biocompatible, flexible materials. The work reflects the cutting-edge focus of the Viventi Lab, leveraging advanced materials and fabrication techniques to create devices that can safely and seamlessly interface with the brain. My experiments built on this vision by helping refine encapsulation processes critical for translating these technologies into clinical use.
Failure and Lessons Learned: The coiling project highlighted the limitations of available resources and the complexity of achieving precise micro-scale manufacturing. This experience taught me the importance of adaptability and the need for scalable solutions in biomedical engineering.
Key Learnings: I gained insights into the challenges of academic biomedical research, particularly in developing novel technologies that can transition into life-saving products. The experience also emphasized the importance of collaboration between engineering and clinical disciplines to address complex medical issues.
Work Product: The primary deliverables from my projects include images of the setups and detailed descriptions of the processes developed. These documents showcase the innovative approaches and technical skills applied during my research.
This experience underscored the critical role of innovation in developing technologies that can address unmet medical needs. The challenges faced and lessons learned are directly applicable to the entrepreneurial process, where identifying problems, developing solutions, and iterating based on feedback are essential steps. The Viventi Lab's focus on creating flexible, high-resolution neural interfaces aligns with the principles of innovation and entrepreneurship, aiming to translate research into practical applications that can improve patient outcomes.
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