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Ryder Fine.
I build things to find out if they work, and I care about why they should. From low-fidelity prototypes to integrated systems, I design for real constraints and real users.
Selected Work
Current Work
Mars Rover · URC Team
Contributing to the mechanical design and build of a Mars rover for the University Rover Challenge — one of the most prestigious student robotics competitions globally. Working across structural systems, additive manufacturing components, and integrated design.
Rover Wheel Testing Platform
Designing and building a wheel testing rig for the Mines Lunar Surface Simulator — evaluating rover wheel performance under simulated lunar terrain and gravity conditions.
Pneumatic Stilts
Adaptive adjustable stilts for theatrical performance using pneumatic pistons. Iterating for live-performance safety, ease of use, and reliability. Managing grant funds and cost-benefit analysis.
Alternative Mining Systems Analysis
Complex systems analysis on global resource management. Building quantitative system dynamics models in Vensim to test feedback loops and model long-term policy impacts.
About
Ryder Fine works in the gap between engineering analysis and human-centered design. He builds early and rough, leaning on prototypes, stakeholder tests, and concept sketches to surface the real constraints before committing to hardware. His projects range from lunar rover wheel testing in a research lab to biomechanical analysis of potters to redesign pottery wheels, and the throughline is always the same: understand the system, build the minimum thing that tests the assumption, and iterate with rigor.
What's the right problem?
The pottery wheel redesign started with stakeholder interviews and needs finding, then early prototypes, before any CAD was opened. Working that way surfaces the real constraints early, so the design solves the right problem instead of a clean version of the wrong one.
Does it actually work?
A 600 lb hamster wheel has to assemble in 13 minutes by two people. A swan neck mechanism has to fire reliably in the middle of a live performance. Building means figuring out what the design actually demands from materials, tolerances, and your own hands. Iteration closes that gap. Optimism doesn't.
How does it fit the whole?
The platinum mining model pulled from 40+ sources because CO₂ reductions and worker safety aren't separate levers. They're the same system. That's the work: tracking how a component decision, a policy variable, or a structural tradeoff propagates through everything else it touches.
Touch.
Whether you have a project, a question, or just want to connect. My inbox is open.