Meet the Mentor:

John Henderson

3M Senior Product Development Engineer

Automotive Aftermarket Division

As a senior product development engineer in 3M’s Automotive Aftermarket Division (AAD), he works to enhance the collision repair process through the development of paint-related products like cups and spray guns. He creates products that reduce the time workers spend cleaning equipment with solvent and the amount of materials wasted per repair, as well as those that help body shops to deliver a shiny, like-new vehicle back to the customer as quickly as possible.

Prior to working on paint equipment, John worked in AAD’s Masking and Protection Solutions group, primarily on masking tape. He started at 3M as a process engineer in the Corporate Research Process Lab Nonwovens Cluster, where he explored new processes and developed equipment for creating materials used in products like dust masks, air filters, diapers and thermal/acoustic insulation. In addition to holding two patents, holding two patents, John is the Chair Elect for the 3M Technical Forum, the central organization within 3M for technical interaction at the grass-roots level. The Tech Forum was established in 1951, has 10,000+ members world-wide, and is organized around 40+ chapters and committees which educate and foster collaboration across all of 3M.

Outside of 3M, John has shared his love of STEM by serving as a lab instructor for the University of Minnesota Toy Product Design course, as an organizer of the Twin Cities R User Group and by building a simple robot with his six-year-old daughter to teach her about sensors, code and electronics. He graduated from the University of St. Thomas with a BS in Mechanical Engineering.

The impact of John Henderson’s work can be seen anywhere there’s been an impact – between vehicles, that is.

Mentees

2017 Finalist

Devin Willis

SLIDEMAP Precision Digital Pathology in Cancer Using Deep Learning

Devin hopes his innovation SLIDEMAP can act as the pathologists in third world countries while in developed countries it can aid pathologists and help them make more accurate diagnosis.

2016 Finalist

Sofia Tomov

Make the Pill fit the Ill

Meet Sofia. Sofia believes her invention can help limit negative side effects from prescription medications. By using fast computing methods to detect mutations that would cause a person to suffer from side effects of their medication, Sofia hopes she can help improve the health of humans all over the world through safer prescriptions.

2015 Finalist

Peter Finch

The Helping Hand

Meet Peter. Peter believes his invention, The Helping Hand, will prevent many accidents caused by senior citizens falling on the stairs.