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Project Introduction & Reflection

 

This EPICS Project plans to create an interactive Cellular Engineering Demonstration (CED) designed to teach young children the basic molecular biology of a Eukaryotic Cell for the Indianapolis Children’s Museum. This model intends to have the children push 3D-Printed buttons of organelles. When they push the button, the organelle lights up and plays a short explanation of the organelles overall function in cell. My role as a new student in the EPICS Program was a team member, but it was my first major role in an actual engineering project. I took the initiative and developed the base model that holds the large polyurethane cell model. Highlights of my role in this project include learning CAD modeling techniques and interacting with contractors to manufacture the base.

Project Introduction & Reflection

 

My first engineering experience in college was in ENGR 131. We found a need in the Purdue community and completed a simple design overview. As a freshman living in the dorms, I had a loft, and it was rather difficult to get up into the loft without some difficulty. This loft ladder was our attempt to solve the problem without changing the design of the lofts. We also spoke with the loft companies and showed them our idea, but this next progressed before the semester was over. Nonetheless it was a fun and creative introduction into engineering.

Project Introduction

Doug Sharp had a vision: that all people around the world have access to safe, secure, affordable, permanent shelter. Sharp, Chairman of BSB Design, gathered a team in 2006 and challenged them to design a sturdy structure using lightweight materials that could be shipped affordably and assembled by a family in one day’s time. The resulting structure, called the Abōd Shelter, can be used to promote the welfare of others by providing shelter to disaster relief areas as well as impoverished countries. The Abōd Project seeks to establish modular communities, thereby contributing to a stable environment that will help people develop their communities and improve their lives.

BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING - PURDUE UNIVERSITY

Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering - Bachelor's of Science

Minor in Engineering Leadership

August 2012 - May 2017

OVERVIEW

Core Courses                                                      

  • BME 201 – Biomolecules: Structure, Function, and Application

  • BME 205 – Biomolecular & Cellular Systems Laboratory

  • BME 295 – Frontiers in Biomedical Engineering

  • BME 204 – Biomechanics of Hard & Soft Tissues

  • BME 206 – Biomechanics & Biomaterial Lab

  • BME 256 – Physiological Modeling

  • BME 301 – Bioelectricity

  • BME 304 – Transport Fundamentals 

  • BME 305 – Bioinstrumentation Laboratory

  • BME 306 – Biotransport Laboratory

  • BME 395 – Professional Development and Design 

  • BME 401 – Mathematical Analysis of Complex Systems

  • ENGR 131 – Ideas to Innovation I

  • ENGR 132 – Ideas to Innovation II

Technical Electives

  • BIOL 230 – Biology of the Living Cell

  • CS 159 – Programing Applications for Engineering

  • EPICS 301 – Junior Participation In EPICS (CED)

  • EPICS 402 – Senior Participation In EPICS (ABOD)

  • MA 261 – Multivariate Calculus III

  • MA 262 – Linear Algebra & Differential Equations

  • ME 200 – Thermodynamics I

  • ME 270 – Basic Mechanics I

  • MSE 230 – Structure and Properties of Materials

  • PHYS 172 – Modern Mechanics

  • PHYS 241 – Electricity and Optics

  • STAT 511 – Statistical Methods

  • ECE 301 – Signals and Systems

  • BME 595 – Principles of Tissue Engineering

  • BIOL 538 – Molelcular, Cellular & Developmental Neurobiology

Engineering Leadership Minor Courses

  • EDPS 300 – Student Leadership Development

  • ENGR 195I – Planning for Engineering Leadership Development

  • ENGR 195J – Portfolio for Experiential Engineering Leadership

  • ENGR 195K – Reflection on Engineering Leadership

  • PHIL 270 – Biomedical Ethics

  • BME 595 – Engineering Ethics

  • PHIL 111 – Principles of Ethics

General Electives

  • EDPS 105 – Academic & Career Planning

  • SPAN 101 – Spanish I

  • SPAN 102 – Spanish II

  • PSY 120 – Elementary Psychology

  • BAND 111 – Symphony Orchestra 

GPA

  • Cumulative 3.60

  • Major Course 3.64

EPICS - TEAM ABOD - FPX PROJECT MANAGER

Abod Team Manager

Spring 2015

EPICS - TEAM CED - INDIANAPOLIS CHILDREN'S MUSEUM

Team Member - Base Design

Fall 2013

EPICS Team Development

This Purdue EPICS team hopes to evaluate the design of the most recent Abōd shelter and resign aspects of the structure to reduce the cost of manufacturing and shipping, reduce the overall weight without compromising structural integrity, improve the ease of assembly, and improve the design to better fit the needs of the direct user. After EPICS completes the Design Process, the project will be passed off to a Purdue Global Engineering Team to develop the connections and partnerships for a world-wide infrastructure, focused on providing these life-changing shelters to those in need.

FPX - Flawless Project Exectution

During my second rotation as a Continuous Improvement Quality Engineer at DePuy Synthes Orthopaedics, I attended a Project Management Workshop devoted to teaching the Flawless Project Execution (FPX) Project Management Methodology. During the following semester at Purdue University as a second semester sophomore, I used these tools to lead the new EPICS Abōd Team through the Project Identification, Specification Development, and Conceptual Design Phases of the EPICS Design Process. New teams typically do not complete the Specification Development Phase, but my newly acquired skills and tools from the FPX methodology, I was able to streamline the management portions of the early phases of the EPICS Design Process. EPICS plans to incorporate the FPX Methodology as a new Skill Session for the lecture portion of EPICS. Learning and implementing this methodology has been a major step forward in my development as an Engineering Leader. This role as the Project Manager was my first major experience as a Leader in an Engineering Role, and I look forward for my next opportunity.

LinkedIn FPX Reflections
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OVERVIEW
EPICS - ABOD
EPICS - CED

1st YEAR ENGINEERING - LOFT LADDER 

ENGR 131 - Loft Ladder Design

Fall 2012

1st YEAR ENGR

Electromyography Brain Machine Interface - EMG BMI

BME 301 - Intro to Bioelectricity

Fall 2015

EMG BMI Integration_edited
Full BMI Setup_edited
Motor Driver Circuit_edited
RaspberryPi
EMG
Using a Linux based Raspberry Pi Microprocessor, our class designed and built a functional Electromyography Brain Machine Interface (EMG BMI) to amplify, buffer, filter, and convert bioelectric signals from small analog signals to useful digital signals. Bioelectric signals are captured using surface electrodes placed on the bicep. The resulting digital data is then analyzed by Python code to determine if the subject is flexing or relaxing. Based on that logical condition of flexion or relaxation, the Raspberry Pi turns a motor on or off, respectfully. The entire unit is mobile because it is powered by an external battery pack and it communicates wirelessly with a computer or mobile device. While controlling a motor is not terribly useful, this technology has many implications and will eventually lead to complete prosthetic limb control for amputees. But for now, it is extremely cool to control an LED and motor just by flexing.
EMG BMI
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