Rate My Professor Craig Steel

Craig Steel is the Leading Hand Engineer in Property and Campus Development at the University of Otago, a position he has held as part of his eight-year tenure at the institution. Beginning his career as a sheetmetal engineer, he specialised in ducting and ventilation installations for laboratory fitouts. During the first COVID-19 lockdown, a fall from a Lime scooter resulted in a torn shoulder tendon, restricting him to light-duty work without overhead lifting. This incident prompted a shift towards diverse "odd jobs," during which he acquired machining skills on a lathe and enhanced his welding proficiency.

In his role, Steel has become the primary contact for custom fabrication requests throughout the Dunedin campus, undertaking projects that range from a few days to several weeks. Examples of his craftsmanship include a sturdy base for a racing simulator dedicated to high-performance motorsport research, a specialised helmet integrated with the Biodex System for evaluating neck muscle strength, an innovative trolley featuring a 360-degree camera to facilitate livestreaming of surgeries during teaching sessions, and the innovative weighing frame developed for buoyancy studies within the School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences (SPESES) Te Kura Para-Whakawai. This frame, adjustable and portable, allows for horizontal weighing—a method rarely used since the 1990s—enabling accurate measurements of centre of buoyancy and individual floating differences in relaxed states using two measurement points and a snorkel. It has been instrumental in gathering data from about 180 participants, nearing the project's goal of 200. Steel's methodology prioritises simplicity and effectiveness, combining researcher specifications with mechanical feasibility and strict adherence to health and safety protocols. This in-house capability provides quicker, more economical alternatives to purchasing off-the-shelf products or hiring external fabricators. Colleagues, including SPESES Technical Leader Nigel Barrett and Professor Chris Button, commend his visionary approach, exceptional skills, meticulous attention to detail, and commitment to exceeding expectations, highlighting his indispensable impact on facilitating groundbreaking research at the University of Otago.