Supporting engineer to the New Apparatus Project Engineering team specializing in the design and procurement of auxiliary systems for turbomachinery.

Member of the “STP-H12” Mission’s Mechanical Team to research new technologies in sensors, computer systems, and deep-learning apps for space-based sensing with autonomous sensor processing. • Worked with members of the mechanical team to design and develop an experimental chassis for the containment of all electrical equipment and their subsystems during payload delivery to the International Space Station (ISS). Design considerations were given towards both efficient temperature regulation and protection against loading during operating conditions. • Led preliminary computer-aided design (CAD) effort of the prospective housing element.• Contributed to research efforts targeted toward identifying the most efficient fabrication method for use as it relates to the housing element. • Conducted a literature review to highlight the key manufacturing differences in conventional versus additive manufacturing and how these differences lead to more efficient thermal conductivity by influencing microstructure.

The summer Undergraduate Research Group (SURG) is formed to educate students on proper research methods and practices, akin to those found within SHREC, as well as providing the opportunity to individually work on a project within the scope of the research team they will join as a contributing member of SHREC. As a member of the mechanical team, my goal was to incorporate relevant mechanical processes or systems into a project scope that could be continued throughout the summer. My project was to research the design, and design process, of in-space propulsion systems and their components while referencing past system(s) to conclude recent improvements made to these systems. The project goal was to compare the performance of all studied systems through generated thrust curves, this was accomplished through:• Gathered existing data on combustion chamber and nozzle design to understand the design considerations used to influence thrust output and system performance.• Established a simplified mathematical model for engine thrust output to highlight key parameters to set as variable in simulation. • Utilization of “RocketThrust Simulator” applet provided publicly by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for means of influencing thrust generation over time by the modification of system geometry and operating conditions. Applets were run via “NetBeans” through Linux Virtual Machine. • Exported data in Excel to generate representative thrust curves that displayed engine performance for each design iteration.• Brief computational fluid dynamics analysis to understand flow, and mixing conditions of liquid propellants found in the combustion chamber.