Menu:
News:
Jun 14, 2014:
Graduated UW with BSAAE degree!
Lab Projects
In addition to studying and doing homework, it’s important for an engineer to be able to work hands-on with equipment and real experimental data. As such, laboratory work is an essential part of any science education.
Control
One of my favorite classes was a control theory class with lab. The class focused on system response and
control theory. The lab sections had us investigating the response of a system, such as a motor or electromagnet,
designing a control system for it, and testing the controller by performing specified tasks with the system.
All team members were involved in each stage of the work, which involved reducing and analyzing the data,
applying controls principles, creating controllers for the systems, and writing reports. The culmination of the
lab was to control a non-linear electromagnetic coil to levitate a steel ball. It was a challenging project and
extremely rewarding when we finally managed to levitate the ball.
ZaP
One of the labs at the university was the ZaP Flow Z-Pinch Experiment working with plasma confinement for
investigating plasma stability. As part of a junior lab class, I was part of a small group that worked with
the ZaP team to collect and analyze data to study the feasibility of using the Z-pinch configuration as a
method of propulsion.
My duties were to help reduce the data provided by the lab, interpret it in the context of a thruster,
and determine the theoretical performance metrics of the device such as thrust and efficiency.