Devyn Bard Email & Phone Number

When I started my journey at the University of Pittsburgh in 2017, I had made up my mind: I was going to be a doctor. However, as I got deeper into my studies and began to explore my hobbies and other interests further, I realized that I needed to make a change. In 2019, I decided to transfer from the Biology department to Mechanical Engineering. It was the best decision of my college career.During my time at Siemens Energy, I worked with senior development engineers to develop tools for technicians and engineers repairing turbines and generators at power plants. Manual machines for manufacturing required a keen attention to detail when designing components and preparing documentation and drawing packages. I became interested in manufacturing with milling machines and lathes and decided to get a job at the machine shop in the Swanson School of Engineering at Pittsburgh.In the machine shop I learned how to take a design from CAD, prepare a drawing, and use both manual and CNC machines to make useful parts for research projects. There is a huge gap between designing the component and actually fabricating and using the part in the final product. The machine shop helped me to build the skills to confidently approach design problems with a wealth of fabrication methods in my tool box to be used on future projects.The last thing missing from my extracurricular experiences in college was automation and programming. Working in the Bajaj Lab allowed me to apply all of the skills I learned to receive a complex problem and break it down into its core actionable items. The sensor project I completed allowed me to use mechanical design, LabVIEW programming, signal processing, and electrical design to create a complex mechatronics project.And those are the projects I enjoy the most: complex projects that require me to leverage the skills, experiences, and lessons I have learned to confront challenging problems with innovative solutions.For fun I like to design, analyze and build speakers. Audio has been a huge interest of mine since before I became an engineer, and now I really enjoy applying the skills I've learned as a mechanical engineer to my hobby. In general though, I like to build things, whether it is using my CNC router, one of my 3d printers, or any of my conventional woodworking tools; I enjoy using the tools at my disposal to confront challenges.

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  University Of Pittsburgh

  Mechanical Engineering