With Dr. Marija Ilic and the EESG group at MIT, I am working towards creating more sustainable electrical grids by simulating grid architectures to analyze inefficiencies.

At Curious Cardinals, I mentor children and adolescents in STEM topics, particularly mathematics and engineering. Though the tutoring is remote, I focus on hands-on projects with my mentees. Some projects I have worked on with my mentees include a E-Skate, a custom PC, a robotic arm, and a remote controlled vehicle.

With Dr. Christopher Rose, I help organize course logistics, develop coursework, and grade homework and exams for his upper-level engineering class, Communication Systems. This class focuses on wireless communication topologies, especially RF engineering techniques and the mathematics behind some DSP phenomena and some communication protocols.

In the Laiwalla-Nurmikko Neuroengineering Laboratory, I work on digital signal processing solutions for neural decoding algorithms. In particular, I'm currently working on translating a MatLab framework for processing neural data into Verilog in order to implement hardware accelerators for real-time data processing in an FPGA. This entails using communications schemas such as BPSK modulation and phase-locked loops in a Simulink prototype to ensure the neural decoding is working properly.

Engineering Medical Care Change (EMC2) is a student-run startup funded by the Brown Rothberg Catalyzer. It is a team of electrical, biomedical, and software engineerings working to create an ambulatory EEG monitoring system for epilepsy monitoring and potentially other applications. Much of my work is comprised of developing functioning schematics and PCBs in easyEDA for both the microcontroller and amplifier of this system.As this is a collaborative project, I work with the biomedical team to conceptualize the electrode hardware and work with a neurosurgeon in the Providence area to understand applications in the field.

The objective of the Intelligent Spinal Interface project is to design a system to help those who have suffered traumatic injuries regain movement in impaired limbs. Here, I integrated an HM-11 BLE module with an Arduino Nano in order to communicate between the two and used the Arduino IDE in conjunction with Coolterm to send messages via Bluetooth. I also worked on debugging issues with time stamped messaging system in which data transfer hardware could not facilitate message baud rate.

Backpack Networks, formerly Bractlet Inc., is a data science/IT startup based out of Austin focusing on sustainability-driven software systems. During my time at Backpack, I've had the opportunity to expand my knowledge of embedded systems development and radio frequency engineering. At Backpack, I implemented the Airspayce Radiohead framework in C and C++ to create a mesh network for LoRa radio communication and created a star-of-stars radio topology by implementing the LoRaWAN framework and The Things NetworkAdditionally, I prototype wireless communication using embedded hardware including the Sparkfun Pro RF and the TTGO LoRa32 OLED and evaluated the effectiveness of these systems against the Digi XBee module.

Working at Greensight was my first exposure to the world of professional engineering and proved to be an extremely valuable experience. There, I designed in Onshape and imported CAD files from McMaster-Carr, an online repository of fasteners, to create 3D CAD models of drones, and used hardware/manufacturing using soldering, 3D printing, CNC machining, rudimentary carbon fiber tubing manufacturing and other means to facilitate prototyping. In this vein, I validated a prototype for a new communication protocol using a capacitor array and developed a prototype light system — directional lights — using LEDs in conjunction with a Lua script. I tested various drone propeller motors and propeller combinations with RCBenchmark; performed analytics in Excel on various data collected including thrust, current draw, efficiency and other parameters. I researched and initiated office-wide use in the mechanical engineering department of an Onshore stress analysis extension, “Intact”. I also logged over 50 hours of drone flights by supervising remote flights over golf courses and vineyards, analyzing water content in the soil with visual light, NIR and thermal cameras and using this knowledge underwent field testing at a local vineyard using a preprogrammed flight path and manual take-off and landing.

At this apprenticeship, I designed a replacement bridge for a dilapidated bridge near my home (which not implemented due to lack of funding) I programmed in WaterCAD to emulate a 100-year storm and ensure that the bridge would withstand it. Additionally, I used AutoCAD Civil 3D to create a topographic map of the surrounding area and understand the watershed.