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Stephen Dunn is a smart and innovative team leader known for his charismatic approach. He effectively inspires and guides teams to achieve their goals with creativity and confidence.

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Project spotlight: NexusCore, a custom CAN power distribution module for a 1996 Integra Type R

For the past several months I've been designing NexusCore, a solid-state, CAN-controlled power distribution module (PDM) for my 1996 JDM Honda Integra Type R build. It replaces two commercial 35-channel PDMs (one in the engine bay, one in the body) with a single purpose-built unit that fits the... vehicle's harness, FuelTech FT600 engine management, and electric power steering conversion.

What it does:
- Switches and protects every powered circuit on the car: 36 smart high-side channels, 16 high-current external-FET channels (fuel pump up to 25 A, cooling fans, coils, injectors), and 6 half-bridge outputs
- Reads 48 switch and sensor inputs and communicates over two CAN buses
- Runs two independent control banks (engine and body), so a fault on one side can't take down the other
- Manages its own cooling by comparing inlet and outlet air temperatures to confirm the fans are actually moving air

Engineering highlights:
- Connector architecture: I evaluated eight sealed automotive connector families against the design's 112 signal positions and found that no buyable single plug could carry them at the needed current. The final design uses two TE DEUTSCH DRC 70-way headers soldered directly to the board. They're secured to TE's drawing so plug loads go into the enclosure wall, not the solder joints. Circuits above 13 A run on paralleled contacts.
- Harness-swap protection at zero BOM cost: Both headers use the same keying, so the engine and body plugs could physically be swapped. A ground strap in each harness identifies which plug is connected. Firmware keeps every output OFF until each bank confirms its own harness, and a swapped, unplugged, or damaged harness logs a fault instead of powering anything.
- Safety-first firmware rules: Outputs default OFF. ABS and steering keep independent control authority. Nothing is called fabrication-ready or road-safe until ten defined release gates pass validation.
- Governed digital engineering workflow: The design's system of record (BOM, pin map, decision register, release gates, reviews) lives in a Base44 application I built. PCB work runs in KiCad and Flux.ai, and AI assistance is used under explicit human decision authority. Every design change is traced to a numbered decision record.

Status: Board placement complete (352 components, clean courtyard and clearance checks), schematic and connector netlist finalized, and the harness change request issued. Next up are routing, enclosure design, and validation testing against the release gates.

This project brings together what I enjoy most: systems engineering discipline, hands-on hardware design, and building tools that keep complex programs traceable.

#SystemsEngineering #ElectricalEngineering #PCBDesign #AutomotiveElectronics #Motorsport #EmbeddedSystems #DigitalEngineering more
1mo

Designed this program a few months ago for the JSF Program and the end result was this! An Intelligent Master Scheduler Dashboard. This program I created to live in the AWS Cloud Environment. Its design allows it to be used and hosted from a sharepoint environment offering access to tools such as Microsoft Office 365, Power Automate, Etcs to provide capabilities far beyond what you could stand to... achieve with using Microsoft Office products alone. This hosted application is a full Project Management, Systems Engineering, Configuration Management, Risk Management, Executive Management Suite all in one!  more
1mo

Another Intelligent Master Schedule Dashboard Created for the US Marine Corps this time supporting the PM AAA Program. Designed this tool to support SE, PM, CM, RM, and several other functions within the PMO supporting the warfighter.