You can find more about my technical background and work on Github (linked).

During my MEng at UC Berkeley, I have been working on the following capstone project:

SpaceCAL: SpaceCAL is a NASA funded project where we are working to build a payload to test a new type of additive manufacturing called Computed Axial Lithography (CAL) in space. This process prints parts volumetrically from a vat or liquid as opposed to printing layer by layer. The resin is photosensitive, meaning parts can be printed by projecting its image onto it, where it hardens to form the entire part at once. We plan to test the SpaceCAL payload in a Virgin Galactic aircraft at the end of March.

My focus on the project has been the optical subsystem, which involves determining which of the various optics components we need to get the initial image from the projector to the 4 vats containing liquid resin so that we can print four parts at once in our payload.

During my time at Cornell University, I was involved with several research groups and extracurricular engineering groups.

From August 2022 to May 2023, I worked with Professor Zhiting Tian’s research group in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. There, I worked on two projects:  

Nanocomposite Research for Insulation on the Moon: This NASA-affiliated project involved developing and analyzing composite materials that were suitable for electrical insulation on the moon. My role on this project involved designing a mechanism for creating flat, homogeneous samples from polypropylene pellets to make them ideal for X-ray diffraction analysis.

Co-generation Project PCB and Heat Sink Design: The Co-generation project has the goal of developing a solar-powered thermocooker. While working on this project, I designed casing to house a PCB and lithium-ion battery that would power the thermo-cooker. I also tested different heat sink models using Ansys to determine the most effective design to ensure PCB and battery did not overheat.

From August 2019 to September 2022, I was a member of the Cornell Mars Rover Project Team, a student-run organization which builds a fully autonomous rover each year to compete in the Annual University Rover Challenge.

I was a member of the Astrotech subteam, where I worked on the rover’s life detection system. I proposed and manufactured the mechanical on-rover system that would autonomously perform life-detection tests on 3 different rock and soil samples. I was also responsible for integrating different sensors into the system that would be useful for life detection. For two semesters, I was the Science Subteam Lead, where I managed a team of students to implement chemical tests, cameras, and sensors that would be used on the Mars Rover to determine if the soil and rock samples being analyzed contain or once did contain life.

Additionally, I was an Undergraduate Researcher with the Cornell Astronomy Department under the supervision of Professor Lisa Kaltenegger, Director of the Carl Sagan Institute. I used Python, MATLAB, and Microsoft Excel to analyze hundreds of thousands of datapoints from NASA’s exoplanet archives to determine which exoplanets fall into their respective star system’s Habitable Zones. I generated absorption black-body curves using Python for 12 different temperatures and 13 novel materials created in an on-campus lab that could comprise the material make-up of exoplanets.