Owen senior gains national recognition for engineering design

Rafa Kohn fuses creativity and technology in manufacturing project

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
March 25, 2025

Owen senior Rafa Kohn earns national recognition for designing a CNC router customized to make precise cuts for woodworking. Courtesy photo

Creativity flows steadily through the mind of Rafa Kohn. Whether the Owen High School senior is smashing backhands on the tennis court or dutifully studying, the solution to an existing or potential problem can often be found among the swirl of ideas.

The process is constant in his workshop, where Kohn channels his inspiration into his penchant for woodworking and production, but one of his latest projects has gained attention well beyond the Swannanoa Valley.

Growing up in Ecuador, Kohn was mechanically inclined long before he came to the Swannanoa Valley in the summer before his sophomore year of high school.

“My mom and I came here to take care of my grandmother, and we were planning on staying for a year,” he said. “After that year ended, we decided the best option was for me to finish high school here, since I was planning on going to college in this country anyway.”

A lifelong tennis player, Kohn joined the Warhorse program and became a perennial postseason contender, but it was his passion for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and a course he took during his first year at Owen that nurtured his interest in design.

“I started doing some woodworking during the pandemic and I took that class here my sophomore year,” he said. “I had learned some things by myself, but when I found out we had a shop I figured it would be fun. It ended up being a very different and interesting experience for me.”

The student was also introduced to 3D printing.

“My mom did not want me using power tools, so I was doing all of my woodworking with hand tools,” Kohn said. “I needed to get to a point where I could use power tools in a way in which she would approve, and in my mind I felt like combining 3D printing and woodworking would let me do that.”

He began researching Computer Numerical Control routers, computer-controlled machine tools that make precise cuts based on a model programmed by the user.

“Instead of cutting away plastic, like a 3D printer, I wanted it to make cuts through pieces of wood,” Kohn said. “Initially, I found a kit that I assembled and used for like a year, but I absolutely hated it.”

He turned his attention to engineering a piece of equipment that would better suit his needs. During the process, Kohn learned about the N.C. State Science Fair from longtime Owen science teacher and current Watauga High School Assistant Principal Dr. Coleman Bailey.

“He told us there were research grants available for high school students,” Kohn said. “A lot of the things I wanted to do with my CNC machine were a little more expensive than I could handle, so that grant allowed me to continue working on my project.”

With the design and first prototype nearly complete, the student worked with his teacher on improving the functionality.

A CNC router designed and built by Owen senior Rafa Kohn earned second place in the Senior Engineering category in the 36th N.C. State Science Fair and first in the 2024 N.C. Student Academy of Science High School Engineering and Technology category. Courtesy photo

“I ran into some issues, and Dr. Bailey helped me get better parts to address those issues,” Kohn said. “So, entering it into the science fair really allowed me to get it to where it is right now, which is a functioning machine.”

The finished product, which earned second place in the Senior Engineering category in the 36th N.C. State Science Fair in March of 2024, is designed around specific 3D printing parts, customized to fit the router.

“There are hundreds of designs for CNC machines and technically, a 3D printer is a type of CNC machine,” Kohn said. “You just program the computer and it will move the machine to the coordinates given by the code.”

His design improved upon others Kohn had previously worked with and studied.

“I wanted to figure out the differences between that kit I had used and a really good industrial machine, and kind of merge those two,” he said. “For example, the kit I used was a 3D printed CNC machine, so a lot of the parts are 3D printed, while industrial machines use aluminum or other metals.”

Kohn’s router earned a first-place finish in the 2024 N.C. Student Academy of Science High School Engineering and Technology display, earning the inventor an invitation to the National Association of Academies of Science and American Junior Academy of Science Annual Conference in Boston, last February.

Introducing his design to professionals in the field provided Kohn with an opportunity to receive feedback on the machine he had been working diligently to build for years. As he viewed other entries, he reflected on the experience.

Designed by Owen senior Rafa Kohn, a CNC router for small-scale manufacturing, was featured in the 2025 National Association of Academies of Science and American Junior Academy of Science Annual Conference in Boston. Courtesy photo

“One thing that was really interesting to me and made me really appreciate our science fair program at Owen was that a lot of the other students came from schools with a lot more resources, like they might not have a grant, but they are right next to universities and have the ability to get professors to allow them access to labs to create these really high-level projects,” Kohn said. “What made us kind of distinct, I believe, is that we all did our projects completely. Dr. Bailey helped us work out issues, but the projects were all our work.”

Kohn’s achievements, according to Owen principals Dawn Rookey, underscore the schools commitment to maintaining a strong and supportive academic environment.

“Being at Owen for as long as I have been here, I have seen some of our students go on to Ivy League colleges like Harvard, MIT, Georgetown or Brown,” she said. “It’s always inspiring to see our students have that kind of success.”

Witnessing growth in students like Kohn, she continued, is one of the “true joys” of being an educator.

“Rafa is an amazingly well-rounded person,” Rookey said. “He’s a member of our award-winning choir, he’s an incredible tennis player and he’s very engaged in all of the things that happen here. I’m not sure where he’s going to go from here, but I know he has a lot of options.”

Regardless of the path he chooses, one thing will likely remain the same for Kohn.

“My projects are never-ending,” he said. “Sometimes that’s a problem, but sometimes it’s great. I can’t stay still, and I love with coming up with ideas and making new things.”