Alex Herrera Email & Phone Number

Houston, Tx, Us

I mentor a total of eight students between the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) honors program and through the Stony Brook Chapter of AIAA. I work with my mentees on professional development including applying to internships, developing their resumes, professional etiquette, and more.

I analyze projected speckle patterns using CASI software to determine the dislocation between projected patterns. I've been working to facilitate the process of measuring plate bending using projected speckle patterns. The goal is to solve for a coefficient and to finalize the equation for predicting plate bending.

Stony Brook, New York, United States

I act as a robotics instructor for the school’s High School WISE (women in science and engineering) program. I work with professors and administrators of the collegiate honors program WISE to create a suitable course for these students. I teach the group of students the essentials of robotics including basic electronics, circuits, and Arduino programming.

I conduct experiments to find the most effective formula for magnetic filament for 3D printing to eventually be able to 3D print magnetic actuators.I have been working to conceptualize parts that could be made in this magnetic material, particularly for aerospace applications. The goal is to improve the formula for the magnetic ink to increase the viscosity and enhance printing process.

While continuing my work on the reusable viral sensor, I am also a member of the VIPER team where I collaborate with the team to identify failure modes.For VIPER, I was contributing to the Mission Systems Engineering team by using fault tree analysis to determine failure modes as well as possible recovery and safety solutions. We utilized Confluence and TEAMS to organize our documentation. Part of my role was to transfer and correct data to maintain and improve the system of organization as well as elaborate in greater detail.

Ames Research Center

I am developing a reusable viral sensor to be used by crew members in a spacecraft environment using Raman spectroscopy. The sensor will go within the water systems of spacecraft and inform the crew of any potential health hazards including viruses.

We participated in the NASA Student Launch Initiative where students are expected to design, build, and fly a rocket that is designed to a different challenge every year. This year we had to create a "lunar landing module" that would deploy from the rocket at 400 feet and land safely separate from the vehicle body. Our team created a quadcopter drone that could fold into the rocket body and deploy using linear actuators that would push a door open after the main parachute deploys. Our drone flew successfully, and we qualified to fly our payload at the national competition in Huntsville, Alabama.

As President of the Stony Brook Chapter of AIAA, I have organized large and small scale events, managed projects, and worked with professionals to get students as many opportunities as possible. AIAA has become a club within the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences that is known for taking lead and starting traditions such as the College of Engineering Executive Board Social and Picnic Events. My fellow executive board members and I worked with the Stony Brook Career Center, NSBE, and a number of other organizations on campus to create the annual "Careers in Aerospace Panel" where representatives from major aerospace companies come to Stony Brook to network with students in ways they never have before. Over the course of my two years, the student body membership expanded from 4 to 205, making AIAA a prominent organization on campus. We also participated in the NASA USLI competition where we qualified for nationals for the first time in 2024.

In NASA L’SPACE Mission Concept Academy Summer 2022, our project was to design a vehicle that could traverse caves on Mars to collect biosignatures. My team of about 14 people researched, designed, and analyzed a climbing vehicle that would have the ability to climb vertically as well as move horizontally across the Martian surface. We made a PDR (Preliminary Design Review) on our design that was over 150 pages long, detailing risks, safety precautions, fault analysis, requirements, and of course the design itself.

Bachelor Of Engineering - Be, Mechanical Engineering, Senior

Activities and Societies: President of AIAA, Women in Science and Engineering Honors Program, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.

Bachelor Of Engineering - Be, Mechanical Engineering