R&D / Engineering Co-op at Lexitek Inc.
From January to June 2021, I completed my first co-op at Lexitek Inc. Lexitek is a Watertown-based company specializing in diffractive optical technologies. My responsibilities were primarily centered around manufacturing and manufacturing design for the optics and their associated optomechanical hardware. A large portion of machining is done using a CNC mill, and I learned to write programs in G-Code that the CNC can interpret and run. I also learned a great amount about designing for manufacturing while doing this. On the assembly side of things, I worked in a clean room environment to assemble the optics while avoiding particle contaminants. This is a very precise operation that I helped to revise portions of after gaining experience in the process. I was also responsible for machining and assembling rotary stages, which are capable of rotating the optical elements at over 400 RPM. I did some light electronics work in this area near the end of my co-op, integrating a high-current motor driver into the high speed stage which had previously been under-amped.
Generate Product Development - Powerhouse Project
I joined Generate Product Development at the beginning of 2021, and had the fortune of working as a Build Studio Engineer on a project called Powerhouse. Powerhouse is a solar array that can retract into a shed when not in use, allowing people to have solar power in limited space without the extra costs of roof installation. The system uses a scissor mechanism, which my team tested extensively and redesigned throughout the semester, to expand and retract. I was on a 2-member subgroup responsible for designing and testing a suspension, as the system has to run on uneven terrain. The primary challenge arose from the fact that we only had one hinge to attach each wheel to, leading to some creative engineering to work around this. The photo to the left is me testing a prototype of this system in the makerspace. Currently, I am in my second semester as a Build Studio Engineer working on a shoe that transforms between high heel and flat.
Solar Decathlon
Solar Decathlon is a new student organization at Northeastern that I joined in Fall 2020. Last year, we worked to design a net zero energy mixed-use multi-family building for a competition sponsored by the Department of Energy. I was part of the MEP / Energy Systems team, which focused on using solar, wind, geothermal, and other renewable energy sources to provide energy for the building. Additionally, we designed the building’s mechanical systems such as heating and cooling, the electrical systems like lighting, and plumbing systems, all focused on minimizing the building’s energy load and eliminating any non-renewable sources of energy. In the team’s first ever year of competition, we were selected as finalists in our division, meaning we were one of the 10 best teams in the nation. This year, we are stepping up and entering the 2-year build challenge, where we will spend a year designing a single-family unit and the next year constructing it.
First Year Engineering Learning and Innovation Center
Since Fall 2020, I have worked at Northeastern's First Year Engineering Learning and Innovation Center (FYELIC). FYELIC is a resource center for first-year engineering students where they can receive tutoring help and work on their Cornerstone of Engineering projects. As part of my job, I tutor students in SOLIDWORKS, AutoCAD, C++, MATLAB, Arduino, math, and physics. I also operate workshop machinery such as the laser cutter, CNC, 3D printers, and bandsaw in order to help students construct their Cornerstone projects. Additionally, I provide advice and consultations to students who need help designing their projects.
SeaPerch Underwater Robotics
SeaPerch is a high school competition put on by the U.S. Navy in which teams of students build an underwater ROV that can maneuver through an obstacle course and relocate various weighted objects precisely. My team and I worked for two years to optimize our design, and eventually placed 7th in the nation in 2019. I worked to create our team's designs, model them in CAD, and 3D print them. I also contributed heavily in the wiring, waterproofing, calculations, as well as planning the team's logistics. One contribution that I am proud of was redesigning the way our team achieved neutral buoyancy; I calculated the necessary volume of air necessary to offset the ROV's mass, and included that volume in the CAD model. We then filled that volume with sprayable closed-cell foam, which has negligible mass and prevented us from having to make a watertight chamber, which is difficult with PLA plastic.
Wall Cart
Wall Cart is a project within Northeastern Robotics that I was involved in freshman year. We worked to design and construct a remote-controlled car that can drive on walls using inverted drone blades and high-friction wheels. I have contributed by redesigning the propeller guards to optimize airflow to the blades, as well as mass-optimizing the car's body to maintain strength while taking away unnecessary weight. In the process of mass-otimization, I also reconfigured the position of the Arduino and battery on the car's underside to clear even more airflow for the blades. This increased airflow allows the blades to output a greater thrust to hold the car to the wall.
Sustainable Wind Energy Museum Exhibit
This was the cumulative project in my Cornerstone of Engineering class in my first year of college. We were tasked with creating an interactive museum exhibit to teach elementary school children about a topic related to sustainability, and we chose wind energy. Our project featured 3 working windmills that the children could place in 3 different environments, trying to make the optimal configuration to produce the most energy. Our system was capable of recognizing which windmill was on which environment, displaying the corresponding environment, and spinning the windmills at the appropriate speed. To do this, it utilized 2 Arduinos running from a MATLAB script. In our design, we were heavily focused on making the exhibit friendly to elementary schoolers and usable by all, utilizing the Museum of Science's universal design guidelines.
Intro to Rocket Engineering
In Fall 2019, I took a course through Aerospace Northeastern in which they teach students the basics of rocket engineering, and the students simulate, build, and launch a rocket. I worked with a team of 3 to construct an F-class rocket, with the goal of reaching an apogee at exactly 1,000 feet. Our simulation showed us reaching our target apogee, and when we traveled to New Hampshire to launch the rocket in November, our altimeter showed an actual value of 970 feet. For our purposes and with our given materials, we were proud of this mark.
Sudoku Solver
I made this program in July 2020 as a way to practice Python, which I had just learned. It ended up being the most intensive computer science project I have completed to date, utilizing the Tkinter GUI, a recursive solve function, and a 3 dimensional data structure. The program works by generating a 9x9 matrix of the gameboard as the user inputs numbers, then generating another matrix of the same dimensions where each element is a list of possible numbers that the square could be. The program then uses the same logic that a person would use to solve a sudoku to finish the puzzle based on the second matrix. I updated this program in May 2021 to recognize situations where 2 numbers are mutually exclusive to 2 places, but it is unknown which number goes where.