Research and Lab Experience
UCSB Rocket Propulsion Lab
UCSB RPL is a student run organization that is competing in the FAR Mars Rocket Competition in 2021. The goal of the competition is to deliver a 1kg payload to exactly 45,000ft using a liquid methane and LOX engine. Everything about the rocket is being designed and assembled by the students and most of the parts are manufactured by us as well. Currently, the team is working on designing and constructing a static test fire stand to characterize the performance of our engine. My role on the team is to simulate and solve problems involving thermofluid systems with the fuel feed and tank system. Through this project, I have learned how to attack problems which at first glance I don't even know how to start because the topics are not explicitly covered in lecture. The problems require mixing in knowledge from many different courses, internet research and from my own intuition. I have also had to justify my calculations and decisions which requires a large amount of confidence in my work. By working with the engineering team, I have gained experience on documentation and communication with a highly structured group of motivated individuals.
Hawkes Research Lab
I worked with a Mechanical Engineering PhD candidate at UC Santa Barbara on a self propelled soft robot whose motion is powered solely from the sun. The robot utilizes work from the phase change of low boiling temperature fluids such as solvents. My role was to perform thermofluid analysis on the system and to think of different ways that the expanding fluid can be used to generate motion.
Fluid Energy Science Research Lab
I am currently working with Paolo Luzzatto-Fegiz to repair a broken water tunnel in his lab at UCSB. This mostly consists of repairing the damaged composite gel coat to improve the strength of the structure and reduce the friction induced by the inside walls. Once it is fully repaired, I will conduct hydrodynamic experiments of my own design.
