Western University’s Free Appropriate Sustainability Technology (FAST) Research Group (2022-Present) - GraduateResearcher
Designed, built, and tested 15 unique, reconfigurable open-source devices for use in data aquisition and automation; devices were incorporated into control systems for pyrolysis and bio-reactor projects
Built temperature controlled soldering reflow oven to more easily assemble printed circuit boards for testing
Projects:
Open source data acquisition and automation framework (BREAD)
Bioreactor supervisory controller
Pyrolysis reactor supervisory controller
Chemical reactor supervisory controller
Western University's Biomechanical Engineering Research Lab (Summer 2021) -NSERC USRA Research Assistant
Designed and prototyped an instrumented knee implant to measure joint contact forces using 3D printed case, Python-based user interface, and six load cells; prototype will be used to guide future research into knee implant design.
Collaborated with supervisor on PhD thesis to tune PID controller for muscle-driven joint motion simulator.
Modified and tested analog-to-digital converter to increase data sampling rate; modified circuit was used in supervisor's joint motion simulator to improve accuracy of PID controller.
Capstone PrototypeDeveloped median filter algorithm to ignore outliers in serial data from load sensors; improved reliability of Arduino data sampling for instrumented knee implant and muscle-driven joint motion simulator
Designed and built a device to gather and display real-time, linear and angular acceleration data in 3D space.
Final prototype used a custom Android smartphone app to receive data at 100Hz from up to 10 different devices.
Device will be used by researchers at Western University to train a machine learning algorithm to better identify a user's actions, like running, swimming, biking, etc., based on acceleration data gathered.
Research Project (2020) -Replacing Diesel Fuel in Remote, Northern Canadian Communities
Evaluated the current state of diesel reliance for energy production in remote, Canadian communities and compared possible replacement sources based on five factors: economic, societal, health & safety, environmental, and capacity.
Small modular reactors (SMRs) have been viewed by the Government of Canada as 'primary alternatives' to diesel fuel as outlined in their Small Modular Reactor Action Plan. The purpose of this project was to determine whether wind and solar energy sources were, in fact, better alternatives based on the five categories mentioned above. It was found that wind and solar were better alternatives due to the high cost of SMRs, lifetime environmental impacts from uranium mining to recycling, and expertise required to maintain a reactor. See full report.
Western Sunstang Solar Powered Car Project (2021-Present) -VP Electrical
Consolidated past motor data and reports to create motor testing criteria; will be used to evaluate the current state of the vehicle motors.
Generated low-power circuit schematics using Altium designer.
Design Project (2020) -Autonomous Navigation and Climbing Robot
Designed and built an autonomous robot using an Arduino-based microcontroller to navigate around an obstacle and ascend a rope affixed to a doorknob using ultrasonic sensors; tasks completed within two-minute timeframe.
Western Undergraduate Balloon Team (2019-2021) -Project Manager
Guided interdisciplinary team of undergraduate STEM students by facilitating weekly meetings with sub-teams and monthly meetings with the Canadian Space Agency; finalized high-altitude research project ready for launch.
