about me
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I am a mechanisms engineer at NASA/Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where I'm working on hardware for the Mars Sample Return campaign. When I'm not working on lab, I may be found reading a sci-fi novel, out on a bike ride, or listening to new podcast episodes.
In December 2022, I graduated Magna Cum Laude with my bachelor's degree from the University of Pittsburgh, with a major in mechanical engineering and a minor in electrical engineering.
NASA CLPS internship at Astrobotic
During the summer of 2022 I was the NASA sponsored intern at Astrobotic through the Commerical Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. I was a member of the mechanisms/robotics subteam working on the Griffin lunar lander, set to take the NASA VIPER rover to the south pole of the Moon in 2024. The main mechanisms I worked with were the egress ramps the rover will roll down to reach the surface of the Moon. I spent the summer working on the gravity offload deployment test campaign for the egress ramps, to evaluate the ramps deployment behavior under simulated Moon gravity. My tasks included designing the test rig, writing the test plan, building the rig, preparing the test surface, and performing test trials.
co-op at carnegie robotics
During the spring and fall of 2020 and the summer of 2021 I co-op'd full time at Carnegie Robotics, where I was a part of the team working on the company's next generation of rugged, precision stereo cameras. I had a wide range of assignments over my three rotations, including the following:
- I set up and performed design validation testing including shock, vibration, dust and thermal testing. For shock and vibration testing, I used customer acceleration data to create realistic random vibration test profiles, and designed fixtures to hold cameras in multiple orientations. I also set up and performed some of the shock and vibration runs, with the vibration profiles I created and with industry standard profiles.
- I designed a custom sprayer system to clean our stereo camera lenses in the field.
- I created precise CAD models of reverse engineered parts using data I collected with a FaroArm.
- I built up engineering units of new products, and drafted preliminary build instructions for the production team.
- I designed and made assorted hardware/tools used by the production team.
- I modeled new product mockups in Solidworks, and in one case put together a few mockups to show off.
- I updated PCB component library references in Altium, and ensured the updated BOMs were correct.
- I imported dozens of parts to and created BOMs in our ERP software.
- I created labeled exploded view diagrams of top level assemblies for reference and to show off the complexity of our products.
pitt makerspaces
In addition to being a student, I spent most of my time at Pitt as a member of the Leadership team of the Makerspaces at the Swanson School of Engineering. I spent a year as the President, and previously I served as the Vice President, and Student Outreach Lead. The Makerspaces are a collection of spaces with materials and equipment ideal for prototyping, designing, and fabricating free to all Pitt students. Some of our resources include 3D printers, a vinyl cutter, CNC routers, laser cutters, and vacuum formers. We staff the spaces with volunteer mentors to ensure a safe and collaborative environment for all users, and host community events such as workshops and a speaker series.
As President, I directed the student leadership team, and managed overall operation of the spaces. I led the regular meetings with the administrators of the Innovation, Product Design, and Entrepeneurship Program (of which the Makerspaces are a part), the other student leaders, and our volunteer mentors. I facilitated the use of the spaces by classes and clubs, and worked to widen our community to groups throughout and beyond the School of Engineering.
other experiences
In my sophomore year at Pitt I was the secretary for the university's chapter of ASME, and the student outreach lead for the Makerspaces.
Throughout the summer of 2019, I was on the team of four summer research interns for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship program, where I worked on multiple XProjects (a program at Pitt in which student design teams are paired with real-world clients, who have a problem they need solved), and improvement upon the organization of the Pitt Makerspaces.
In May 2019, I participated in the Plus3 Study Abroad Program, traveling to Augsburg, Germany to learn about the automotive industry. My trip was chronicled through my daily blog.
I graduated from Maggie L Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies in June 2018, where I was an active member of the school's FIRST Robotics Competition team, Team 422.
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