On September 23, more than 550 people came through the doors of the Wingspan Event & Conference Center in Hillsboro for the 23rd Northwest Electronics Design & Manufacturing Expo. Sixty-five exhibitors filled the floor. Thirty-five speakers ran 29 sessions. designPORT sponsored the show and exhibited at Booth 604. This year’s theme was Frontiers: Exploring What’s Next in Electronics and Manufacturing. Dr. Isil Berkun opened the day with a keynote on the agentic shift in AI.
On stage with Jamie Hyneman
At noon, designPORT’s Blaine Watson sat down with Jamie Hyneman on the main stage in front of a crowd of hundreds. Jamie spent 13 years demonstrating engineering on Discovery’s MythBusters and continues to work as an innovator and educator.
The conversation covered consilience and interdisciplinary innovation. Biomimetic engineering came up too. It also got into how good teams work: challenging assumptions, the benefits of argument and friction, grit, and having fun with hard problems.
For one recent example of biomimetic engineering, see our June post, Biomimetic Springs That Don’t Compromise.
The Best Model Wins
Straight from the main stage, Blaine moved to Meeting Room 2 to present The Best Model Wins: Innovation, Market Landscapes, and Human Nature. The thesis is in the title. Every important engineering or investment decision rests on a model of human nature, and the better model wins.
The room was highly engaged. Feedback came back with high marks across the board, along with requests for more.
Thank You
Booth 604 hosted great conversations, and we’re grateful to everyone who stopped by.
NEDME is a nonprofit show. Blaine serves on its executive board and built this year’s speaker program, including securing Jamie and coordinating the breakout speakers. Thanks to the ERA Pacific Northwest Chapter for sponsoring the speaker program, and to every sponsor, exhibitor, speaker, and volunteer who made the day work. See you at NEDME 2027.
Working on something at the frontier?
If an engineering or R&D project is stuck, or about to start, we’d like to hear about it. Contact designPORT and bring us your toughest challenge.