Keoni Mahelona Email & Phone Number

Kaitaia, New Zealand

Leading a project to create natural language processing tools for te reo Māori and other indigenous languages.Built the Whare Kōrero, a digital media platform for SMEs.

Wellington & Wairarapa, New Zealand

WaterGenie is developing technologies to sustain and empower society and the environment. Our first product is a smart water manager for homes that rely on rainwater.

Wellington & Wairarapa, New Zealand

I built an affordable prototype device for on the farm diagnostics using Arduino, RaspberryPi, and 3D printing.

Lower Hutt, Wellington

I'm passionate about providing water for the world; in fact, I'm so passionate that I decided to move to Wellington and work for free for 6 months. My project was supported by the MacDiarmid Institute's Bright Ideas fund.I learned how to design and build polymer microstructures. I found a way simple way to make super-hydrophobic surfaces with DIY ingredients. I taught myself Arduino and prototyped instruments to do remote data collection for my research.Most importantly, I've inspired friends and fellow scientists to pursue innovative research around water collecting and harvesting materials.WaterGenie was born because of this.

Kaitaia

I provided technical and business advice to Te Reo Irirangi o te Hiku o te Ika (tehiku.co.nz). This included financial forecasting, updating their website, integrating online radio and data analytics with the website, and rebranding a radio station.I wrote, designed, and delivered a Communication Strategy for an iwi organization.I rebranded a company on Kauaʻi.I professionally photographed three historic occasions for three iwi in Te Hiku o te Ika. Weapons of choice included a digital Canon SLR and a film Minolta SR-2.

Kaitaia

Delivered Strategic Communications Advice to an Iwi

Kaitaia

I Investigated the commercial opportunity for Mixed Hydrophobic-Hydrophilic Surfaces. The primary focus was around using these surfaces to harvest dew to augment water supply. These surfaces are bio-inspired by a Namibia Desert beetle that collects fog at night for drinking.Work included: modeling dew yields throughout New Zealand using meteorological data and physical models, market analysis, industry analysis, scoping the IP landscape, and customer surveys on the perception of drinking water in homes.

Wellington

Studied Electronic Properties of Graphene

Cambridge, Ma

Worked and collaborated with a team of ten Mechanical Engineers. Designed mechanical systems for autonomous underwater vehicles (robots). Work included performing stress analyses for electronics housings, packaging electronics, and designing vehicle support systems. Often worked on 3 different projects at a time, usually consisting of a long-term and a short-term project. Job required collaboration with clients on design, outsourcing designs for manufacturing, and finding new products available to incorporate into company design strategies.

Designed, built, and maintained power and mechanical systems for Team MIT’s autonomous ground vehicle (a car that drives itself). Team placed 4th in the DARPA Urban Challenge (archive.darpa.mil/grandchallenge/index.asp), a race where cars navigated through an urban environment and performed tasks such as passing, parking, and avoiding oncoming vehicles. The team consisted of about 40 people, and the project was a collaboration between two universities and two research labs.

Master Of Science - Ms, Physics

I used Molecular Dynamics to study the properties of liquid drops moving on super-hydrophobic surfaces (SHS). I wrote code to model.

Master Of Science - Ms, Business Management With A Concentration In Technology Entrepreneurship

For my final project, I developed a preliminary business plan with three other students for Osram-Sylvania with regard to launching a new.

Bachelor Of Science - Bs, Mechanical Engineering

Activities and Societies: Drama Club, Choir, Greening Olin Lead five students in converting a Ford Escape and Land Rover LR3.