Ir. Thomassen, E.W.

Erik W. Thomassen is a lecturer at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering. Teaching a broad spectrum of engineering aspects, such as system modelling, statics and dynamics, 3D-modelling and materials and manufacturing, all from a sustainable integrative design approach.

Academic Background

Erik Thomassen returned in 2009 to IDE as a lecturer who aims to deliver high standard, confident and motivated industrial design engineers. He loves to share his experiences as a designer for this cause.  

Education

Erik Thomassen graduated at our faculty in 1989 on prosthetic design (professors Hans Dirken, Jan Cool). In a consecutive cooperation with Cool he came to appreciate and design clever functional mechanisms, in terms of minimizing friction, saving human energy, operating instinctively and precisely and using comparalogy in optimizing design.

He also was an early graphic designer for Fabrique, which became a side career. Took courses in education skills and updated design and engineering methods and skills such as ViP and SolidWorks.

Experience

• 2008-2009
  Haagse Hogeschool: co-designed short-track Ba-course Industrial Product Design (IPO) for international students
• 1999-2009
  Haagse Hogeschool: headed Engineering section within IPO (Ba-course)
• 1992-2008
  Haagse Hogeschool: taught and co-developed at the technical and sustainable side of IPO
• 1994-1995
  Creative Communications: Design director ad interim in a design consultancy in Bali (Indonesia), learning a lot about doing business in an international setting
• 1992-present 
  Industrial design as well as graphic design projects in own company
• 1990-1991
  Researcher at Instrument Section, Man Machine Systems (Mechanical Engineering, TU Delft)

Specialisation / field of research

Integrated product design and engineering, considering many aspects such as:

• design vision
• functional analysis
• mechanics
• technical creativity in concept development
• sustainability
• communication with suppliers as well as clients.  

Lectures and/or coaches students on:

Integrating courses PO1 and PO2 (SolidWorks), PO3, PO4, AED, graduation as well as more specific courses such as Industrial Production, Product in Motion, Construction, Technical Product Optimization, Modelling.  

Secondary employment

ETE Productontwikkeling (owner of industrial design and engineering consultancy) established in 1991.