I designed, simulated and manufactured a toroidal drive transmission system with the ultimate goal of investigating and controlling its vibration.

Starting from existing literature and basic principles, I made design calculations, CAD drawings and simulations of the entire assembly of about 150 components. I worked with the manufacturers to ensure proper selection of processes and materials, making small design changes as necessary and finally assembled the system, validated the model and performed vibration experiments.

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Tools used: Basic engineering principles, MATLAB, SolidWorks, Adams

Collaborators: Prof. Amr Baz (advisor), Dr. Zheng Gu (manufacturing assistance)

Tensegrity (TENSional intEGRITY structures) are reticulated structures which consist of struts (compressive members) and cables (tensile members) assembled together to create stable structures that are usually foldable/deployable, reconfigurable and lightweight compared to conventional trusses and frames. One example of tensegrity in Nature is the bone-muscle structure of the skeleton, while their engineering applications include deployable structures, robotic manipulators, and their use as templates in the construction of DNA molecules.

My work involves the design — using analytical methods and finite element analysis (FEA) — of reconfigurable tesnsegrity cells and arrays which exhibit desired static and dynamic characterstics, as well as the development of algorithms that simplify the design process. The designed structures are fabricated using multi-material 3D printing, and I design and run experiments to test the resulting structures' vibration and wave propagation characterstics.

Tools used: MATLAB (optimization toolbox), ANSYS, SolidWorks, 3D Printing (Stratasys, 3D Systems, MakerBot), Material testing, Acoustic impedance tube, Vibration and control experiments

Advisor: Prof. Amr Baz

I designed, fabricated and demonstrated a microfluidic device to passively sort particles, droplets and cells of different sizes and/or deformability.
The work has been featured on the cover of Small (copyright of the picture on the right belongs to Wiley-VCH) and has resulted in a provisional patent application.

Tools used: SPICE, COMSOL, MATLAB, Photolithography, Soft lithography, Optical microscopy

Collaborators: Prof. Rohit Karnik (advisor), Marco Cartas-Ayala

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I designed and conducted experiments to convert mechanical energy from a vibrating beam to electric energy via piezoelectric transducers. The model and experiments focused on optimizing the electric circuit as well as the mechanical system to maximize the electric energy that was either being stored (in batteries) or used to drive a load (electroluminescent sheets/LEDs).

Tools used: Electric circuit design and implementation, SPICE, MATLAB, Simulink

Advisor: Prof. Amr Baz

A semester-long class project at MIT aiming to develop a portable device which performs system identification on fruits using stochastic binary inputs. The excitation of the system was provided in the form of stochastic pulses of pressurized air and the response (fruit surface displcement) was measured using an optical sensor. As part of a team, I was responsible for controlling the solenoid valve and performing the signal analysis.

I entered the device in the MIT 100k Competition (Elevator Pitch Contest, 2009) where it reached the semi-finals stage.

Tools used: Pneumatic solenoid valves, Optical reflective sensors, Electric circuit design, SPICE, DAQ, LabVIEW

Collaborators: Prof. Ian Hunter (supervisor), Paula Echeverri, Eli Paster, Masahiro Yamaguchi

• Design and production of passive and active acoustic cells with desired transmission and/or reflection coefficients. Testing the response of the cells to sonic and ultrasonic waves
• Vibration analysis and control of rotating shafts supported on various bearing types (fluid-film, rolling-element, and air bearings)
• Various ARDUINO and LabView projects (DAQ, wireless communication, control)
• Machine shop experience (milling, drilling, turning, laser cutting and etching)
• Material testing and characterization (UTM, DMTA, TMA, Drop test)