The Boeing Company

This past summer 2023, I worked as a Structures Engineering Intern for Boeing Integrated Vehicle Systems in Seattle, WA. I led an experiment in the Shock Physics Lab examining the flammability and heat flux of hydrogen fuel in aircraft engines. I also aided with multiple FAA certification tests, for example, testing cockpit doors’ resistance to ballistics.

During the summer of 2022, I interned with Boeing Research & Technology’s Materials, Processes & Physics team in Charleston, SC. I managed projects focusing on corrosion prevention, gap management, tool prototyping, and material qualification. I was also chosen to lead a team of other interns in a site-wide workflow optimization project.

Working at such a hands-on, dynamic aerospace company has fueled my passion for engineering innovation in the space field and taught me much about collaboration, management, and technical excellence.

Duke AERO

I am on the structures and recovery subteams of Duke University’s rocket club Duke AERO. Duke AERO launched a 30k-foot solid-propellant rocket at Spaceport America Cup 2022 and a 10k-foot solid-propellant rocket this past year at Spaceport America Cup 2023 at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.

During the 2022 competition, I was a vital member of the recovery subteam by preparing and securing the rocket’s parachutes, and I also was part of the launch pad team. During the rocket development stages, I worked on the structures subteam, which focuses on airframe design and uses materials like fiberglass and carbon fiber to build fins, body tubes, and internal load-bearing structures. Here I oversaw the design of the avionics bulkhead component, performed Finite Element Analysis to ensure structural integrity, machined internal metal parts using the lathe, mill, and bandsaw, and conducted carbon fiber layups.

In the 2023 competition, I oversaw the recovery team as the Recovery Subteam Lead, ensuring our parachutes deployed properly. I took charge of assembling the rocket on launch day, inserting shear pins, and ensuring all components fit seamlessly within the airframe. I also led a team into the desert to recover the rocket after touchdown. Our parachutes deployed perfectly, and the judges awarded Duke AERO full competition recovery points, clearing us to fly the rocket again. This was a major recovery and Duke AERO success.

This year, I am spearheading two distinct recovery projects: a guided recovery system that steers the rocket upon drogue parachute deployment to a set coordinate point on the ground, and our own main parachute fabrication from scratch. I hope to increase the technical capabilities of the recovery subteam and put Duke AERO on the map at Spaceport America Cup for being one of the first teams to successfully implement guided recovery.

I am also the Corporate Outreach Lead on Duke AERO’s executive board. I am responsible for networking with sponsors, aerospace companies, and industry partners in order to secure funding and resources for the club. I also help connect students with internships and bring in industry speakers to answer student questions and mentor the subteams.

XPRIZE Rainforest Drone Delivery Team

I was part of Duke’s Blue Devil Divers’ Drone Delivery research team for XPRIZE Rainforest, an international competition with the goal of preserving rainforest ecosystems. Our team focused on the design and construction of a drone mechanism with mechanical and electrical components that transports and attaches cameras/sensors to rainforest trees, then later retrieves them without environmental damage. I led drone flight control as the drone pilot and used CAD for mechanical components.

The Blue Devil Divers made it to the XPRIZE Rainforest semifinals held in Singapore, where we competed against 14 other semifinalist teams by cataloging as much biodiversity as possible within 24 hours in a set area of a Singaporean nature reserve. The drone delivery mechanism successfully functioned as designed.

Duke Aeroelasticty Lab

I am conducting an independent study with the Duke Aeroelasticity Lab. My project examines the effects of various aerodynamic profile shapes on the aeroelasticity of folding wings. I used CAD software to design a folding wing skeleton, on which I am performing hammer impact tests, running Ansys simulations, and observing performance in the Duke Wind Tunnel for an array of wing angles.

Construction of a radio-controlled hydrofoil

I worked with a student team focused on the design, construction, and testing of a motorized hydrofoil converted from a child’s kayak hull. Throughout the project, I gained technical skills such as aerodynamics/hydrodynamics, battery and motor systems, and RC systems. I managed the control systems of the project, such as the ailerons and elevons, and I analyzed roll and pitch motion. I also led strut design by using CAD and epoxy to modify struts and reduce drag. Finally, I was voted by the team to be the project documentarian and kept notes from team meetings, brainstorming sessions, and prototypes.

Decibel Detection Device

I worked on a team given the task of designing a device that alerts students in Duke’s engineering machine shops when to wear ear protection due to the high decibel levels created by machines such as the bandsaw. We used an Arduino Uno, a photoelectric sensor, sound sensor, LCD display, and three colored LEDs to create a decibel detection device, the casing for which we 3D-printed. The Arduino received analog values of sound and was programmed to convert them into decibel values. It then flashed either a green, yellow, or red light to indicate whether or not the sound levels were dangerous, while simultaneously displaying a message on the LCD display. The photoelectric sensor detected when the headphones were resting over the device, and the red light and warning message continued to flash until the sensor detected the headphones had been removed for use.

Mechanical Engineering Classwork

I have conducted many engineering experiments in courses such as statics, materials science, thermodynamics, engineering design, mechatronics, fluid mechanics, and dynamics. These experiments include observing the corrosion rate of various metals over time, creating a photovoltaic cell, analyzing the grain size and hardness of steel, conducting tensile and torsion tests, modeling the Otto and Rankine cycles using engines, building a Rube-Goldberg machine, prototyping an effective hand-washing timer, and more.