Hi! I am a Master's student in Mechanical Engineering at UC San Diego, currently conducting my research project in the Bioinspired Robotics and Design Lab led by Professor Tolley. My research focuses on developing soft sensors using 3D printing and silicone molding.
I received a BS in Mechanical Engineering from The Ohio State University in May 2021. I had the opportunity to work under the mentorship of Professor Belloni on a research project that focused on conducting CFD analysis of a hydro-kinetic turbine. This experience has motivated me to continue pursuing a career in research, with a desire to contribute to the advancement of the field of mechanical engineering.
In this portfolio, you'll find an assortment of projects that I have been involved in, as well as my experiences working as an instructional assistant for various courses. I'm excited to share the knowledge and skills that I've gained through these endeavors. Each project has taught me something unique and has allowed me to grow as an individual and as an engineer. Additionally, working as an instructional assistant has given me the opportunity to help students learn, and has helped me to develop effective communication and leadership skills. To provide a more comprehensive picture of my background, I have also included my resume at the end of this portfolio for reference.
Project 1: Pneumatic Soft Sensor Arrays
In my graduate research project, I focused on pneumatic sensors, which are specialized pouches capable of detecting structural deformations by monitoring pressure variations. While these sensors offer robust solutions for sensing deformable structures, a limitation in earlier designs was the necessity of one pressure transducer per pouch, making scalability challenging. Drawing inspiration from commercial touch screens, I devised a novel approach called Pneumatic Sensor Arrays. By arranging sensors in arrays, this innovation drastically reduces the number of pressure transducers needed compared to conventional designs.
I devised an efficient technique for prototyping TPU pneumatic sensor arrays utilizing heat pressing of TPU sheets and heat-resistant mylar sheets. By applying heat at the TPU's melting temperature, the mylar sheets strategically hindered certain areas of the TPU sheets from bonding, resulting in the creation of air chambers. I assembled two layers of pouch arrays and added a glass fiber layer to decouple the top pressure signals from the bottom pressure signals in the absence of contact.
Furthermore, I developed a Matlab script capable of recording sensor data and providing real-time visualization of user manipulations. Within the analysis algorithm, I leveraged the rate of pressure change as the key method for analysis. This approach enables instantaneous capturing of press and release movements, allowing the sensor array to detect multiple points of pressure simultaneously, as demonstrated in the demos.
Currently, I am in the process of developing a novel design for the pneumatic sensor array, aiming to eliminate the need for the glass fiber layer. This modification is intended to enhance the scalability and deformability of the system. As demonstrated in the second demo, the new design showcases comparable performance to the initial prototype while employing the exact same algorithm.
Project 2: A Pneumatic Haptic Bracelet for Enhancing Violin Bow Technique
For violin beginners, controlling the wrist and maintaining a straight line when moving the bow is difficult since both hands need to perform different tasks. To address this issue, I led a team of two and developed a system with a pneumatic pouch motor bracelet and a glove for tracing the gestures. The motors are inflated with pressurized air and actuated at different frequencies to guide the wrist into the correct position.
Five users have tested the device, and all users verified the effectiveness of pneumatic haptic feedback and claimed being inspired to learn violin in the future.
Project 3: CFD Analysis of a Hydrokinetic Turbine
Through this project, I utilized ANSYS Fluent, a commercial software, to simulate the working conditions of a hydrokinetic turbine. After developing and prototyping the computational models, I wrote scripts to enable high-speed simulations on the Ohio Supercomputer. The final step involved calculating various performance metrics based on the simulation data and validating them against the turbine manufacturer's data. The results indicated the accuracy of CFD simulations for the turbine and provided the company with the opportunity to integrate similar simulations into its development cycle, resulting in a significant reduction in development costs.
This project highlights the value of computational modeling and simulation in optimizing the development process for complex systems. By accurately simulating the turbine's performance, we were able to reduce the number of physical prototypes required, resulting in considerable cost savings. Through this project, I developed a set of valuable skills that are applicable in various engineering and scientific fields. These skills include setting up simulation environments using ANSYS Fluent, ensuring the accuracy of simulation results by performing sensitivity analyses and validating results against experimental data, processing and analyzing simulated data, and presenting technical information to a diverse audience using appropriate terminology and visual aids. These skills have prepared me for success in pursuing various career opportunities in engineering and scientific research.
Project 4: Elephant Treat Dispenser
As part of my undergraduate senior capstone project, I contributed to the design of a device for Cincinnati Zoo that would dispense one of three treat options to elephants based on their preference. Our team's final product was a prototype that required a zookeeper to press buttons manually, depending on the elephant's behavior. Specifically, I focused on designing the motor control component responsible for the rotating dispensing disk. To achieve precise rotation, we incorporated a NEMA 23 stepper motor and utilized Arduino Uno and stepper motor drivers to send actuation signals.
This project demonstrates my ability to collaborate effectively in a team and contribute to a complex design process. My expertise in motor control and circuit analysis allowed me to design a critical component of the prototype, contributing to the overall success of the project. The experience of working on a project with real-world applications has enhanced my ability to approach engineering challenges with creativity and practicality.
Instructional Assistance Experience
UCSD, MAE 204 Robotics: Lab material preparation and assignment grading
I was assisting with the development of lab content for an upcoming robotics course taught by Prof. Tolley in SP 2022. The lab for the course involves utilizing ROS to control a UR3 robotic arm for manipulation tasks that require knowledge of both forward and inverse kinematics. My focus was creating Gazebo simulations on a Mac platform, taking into consideration the fact that many students may be using laptops with the new apple processor firmware, which may not be compatible with most available resources online. While searching for tutorials online, I encountered several valuable resources that were tested on different versions of Ubuntu, which I initially skipped over. However, I realized the importance of personally conducting trials rather than relying solely on the experiences of others, particularly when working with open-source materials. This experience has helped me develop my critical thinking skills, which are vital when conducting research.
OSU, ECE 2300 Electrical Circuits and Electronic Devices: Lab TA
During my undergraduate studies, I served as a lab monitor for a circuit class. In this role, I assisted students in diagnosing problems encountered while building circuits and operating oscillators. This experience allowed me to not only review my circuit knowledge but also develop my communication skills. I learned to effectively explain the concepts required for the lab assignments and helped students understand why their circuits were not functioning properly rather than simply telling them what to do. However, some students struggled to complete the lab within the allotted time, as the lab content was more advanced than the homework assignments. To help them improve, I suggested ways to increase their lab efficiency before deducting points, and encouraged them to strive for better performance.