Steve McGuire is Professor of Metal Arts and 3D Design and Studio Division Coordinator in the School of Art & Art History at the University of Iowa. He received his M.A. in Sculpture in 1983 and Ph.D. in 1990 from the University of Iowa.
Most recently, Steve has created a handmade bicycle curriculum, teaching Fabrication and Design: Hand Built Bicycle I and II since 2010. The University of Iowa Hand Built Bicycle Program, comprised equally of art and engineering majors, emanates from the pedagogical belief that purposeful exploration is the best tool for teaching and learning skills, concepts and tools–in this instance welding, modeling, 3D concepts, fabrication tools, aesthetics and materials. The University of Iowa was the first academic institution to be selected to exhibit the work of students at the North American Hand Built Bicycle Show, the most prestigious venue of its kind internationally. In 2014, five engineering students and five art students traveled to the North American Hand Built Bike Show in Charlotte, NC, to exhibit the bicycles they built, in the process garnering national recognition for their quality bicycles. Check out Bike Rumor (link is external), Bike Magazine (link is external), Bike Radar (link is external), Fat-Bike.com (link is external) and the Daily Iowan (link is external). The hand built bicycle courses are part of a larger collaborative initiative between the College of Engineering and the School of Art & Art History, the first of its kind Art & Engineering Track. The exhibit is an exceptional professional experience, and promotes the College of Engineering and School of Art & Art History’s curricular collaboration. This year 10 students will travel to Sacramento, CA to exhibit bicycles at NAHBS 2016 (link is external).
Since its inception five years ago, over 70 students have built bicycles, students have gone on to be engineers and craftspeople in the bicycle industry, and some of the most important contemporary craftspeople and engineers have traveled to the University to provide lectures and workshops (Handmade Bicycles 2015 catalog (link is external)).