Jan Halvarson, SAE, BCID
Jan Halvarson is a creative, multi-talented designer committed to ethical, economical, and sustainable design. He first proved significant talent by achieving first-year university-level architecture studies in grade nine drafting with the highest grades in the history of his school. Raised in Winnipeg and currently residing in Vancouver, Canada, he excelled through public school in art, athletics, creative writing, and industrial arts. He received his subsequent education in Product Research and Development at the University of Manitoba (UofM), in Architectural and Industrial Illustration at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) and in Computer-Aided Design Drafting in AutoCAD at Vancouver Community College (VCC).
With this professional background in industrial design, Jan is continually creating, developing, and perfecting ideas for new products and value-added features to increase their productivity, marketability, and profits. Having more than ten-years’ experience in transportation design, his focus is on innovative, product-research and development for transportation systems with experience in manufacturing, including the marine, automotive, and aircraft industries.
Jan’s hands-on skills include design drafting and building scale models, mock-ups, prototypes, props, sets, displays exhibits and kiosks, including: technical products, industrial machinery, mechanical devices, shop tools, jigs, and fixtures.
Along with his colleague, Naval Architect Richard Johnson, Jan co-discovered break-through, high-speed, boat technology that won the two of them the premiere BC Science Council grant. This technology significantly increased payload capacity and improved fuel efficiently and stability for pleasure, commercial, and military hydroplaning craft. He also developed a marine firefighting robot concept.
As Chief Designer at Rogers Inter Design, he designed and built a fuel-efficient, prototype concept car featured at Expo 86. This car predated the Smart Car by decades and, as a result, he was elected to membership in the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) for “significant engineering achievement.”
Jan was a charter member of the British Columbia Industrial Design Association (BCID) and Managing Editor, writer, and photographer for the BCID Newsletter.
From design consultant with Magna International Inc., a major auto parts manufacturer, Jan moved to a senior position in the aerospace industry as Master Loftsman at McDonnell Douglas Canada Ltd. During this time, CTV National News interviewed him for a feature story on successful professional Canadians.
He is founding Executive Director of the International Environmental Technology Society, established to foster research and development, education, and implementation of environmental technology.
In his current position in the Design Department at the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre, his responsibilities include production, installation, and maintenance of non-living exhibits. In addition he is the Aquarium staff photographer, Co-chair of the Aquarium’s environmental activity Green Team, as well as being a “key person” on the Health and Safety Committee. His membership of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums—Aquarium Exhibits Group is pending. Jan has won several Aquarium awards for his professional achievements.