For ME104, I worked in a team to create a mass-optimized and efficient scissor lift. We conducted a variety of calculations to ensure our design was as optimized as possible. I enjoyed using my additive manufacturing knowledge to create hollow beams without internal supports. In the end, our design successfully raised 15 lbs 6 inches in 5 seconds.
Image 1: Photo of our final assembly Image 2: CAD of our final assembly Image 3: The mass-optimized beam I helped design Image 4: A cross section of the mass-optimized beam Image 5: The mass-optimized base I designed
In the results of the previous study, we noticed that the intensity of vibration received appeared to affect subjects’ reaction times. I was intrigued by this and wanted to conduct a study to determine if this was true, and also explore how adding other types (auditory and visual) of stimuli would affect reaction time. I took full ownership of designing this study. I personally conducted a literature review, finding that the proposed aim was indeed novel and of interest to the haptics community. I modified the app I had created for the previous study on distraction to now provide combinations of visual, auditory and haptic stimuli. We found that higher intensities of stimuli and additions of stimuli both decrease reaction times. Interestingly, subjects tended to prefer lower-intensity stimuli. This paper informs design of human-computer interactions, especially in systems that seek to reduce reaction times. I am also the co-first author on this paper, and it was presented at the 2023 World Haptics Conference.
A box-and-whisker plot of the results of the study, which shows that as intensities of stimuli are increased, and types of stimuli are added, reaction time decreases.
Haptics is the study of communicating information via the human sense of touch. Haptic stimuli are used in a variety of real-world scenarios, such as through collision-avoidance systems in cars, in robotic surgery, or through video game controllers. In all of these scenarios, the stimuli are provided while the user is distracted. By better understanding how people respond to haptic stimuli while distracted, lab-developed haptic devices can be better adapted for real-world applications. We used a smartphone as the platform for this study. We aimed to prove smartphones can be used as a reliable base for haptics studies. Using smartphones to run studies could open up haptic studies to a much larger, and more diverse population.
A phone case covered in heat-sensitive paint to find ergonomic finger placement3D-printed phone case for standardized finger placement
Inspired by a lunchtime conversation with a friend who is blind, I designed and built a wearable “bracelet” that could tell a user where north is. Using this, a blind person could passively get orientation directions to navigate a new environment.
I tested this device with my blind friend. I led him around a patch of grass in the shade (a particularly hard environment to get orientation in) until he lost his sense of orientation. He then used my device to navigate back to where we started.
I’m currently working on miniaturizing my device and making it more ergonomic.
During the summer of 2023, I served as a Teaching Assistant and Resident Mentor for the Summer Science Program (SSP) in Astrophysics. SSP is a six-week-long residential summer program for high schoolers. SSP is centered around giving high-achieving high schoolers first-time experience in conducting original research.
In the astrophysics program, students determine the orbit of a near-Earth asteroid using data they personally collect. To achieve that goal, students learn advanced math, programming, and astrophysics, attending six hours of lectures a day. I personally attended SSP in high school. SSP was my first time experiencing an academically intensive environment; it inspired me to apply to Stanford. Returning to staff the program that shaped my life trajectory was incredibly meaningful. Over the summer, I helped explain difficult astrophysics concepts to the students. I supported their learning, sitting with a student sometimes for an hour to guide them through a tricky physics problem. I counseled students through their first experience in such an academically challenging environment. I lived in the dorms, coordinating social events, encouraging work-life balance, and creating a positive dorm community. I also willingly mentored the students. I told them about my journey through engineering and of the importance of collaborating with others, among many other meaningful conversations over late-night asteroid observation sessions.
Growing up in Wisconsin, I played curling in high school. I miss the sport, and wish I could play it and share it with those around me. So, I decided to make a mini curling set. Throughout this project, I thought carefully about manufacturability and tolerances in mechanical interfaces.
Clay bricks are the primary building material in Bangladesh. To make them, 8000+ coal-fired brick kilns the size of a football field are spread across the country. These kilns are fed by hand, leading to suboptimal combustion and creating a public health air pollution crisis in the country. This project was my Mechanical Engineering capstone project.
Goal
Create a device that can be cheaply manufactured in Bangladesh to automatically feed coal into brick kilns.
Responsibilities
I was the “liaison interface,” in charge of communicating with the Woods Institute and our engineering counterparts in Bangladesh. I relished working across a language barrier, and worked hard to understand the Bangladeshi team’s findings. I also took a lead role in coming up with innovative improvements we could make, as well as testing our final product.
The inside of the “sandwich mechanism” that dispenses coalThe “sandwich mechanism” all put togetherA test of the mechanism (without a funnel)Our complete contraption without housing Our complete contraption, with an oil barrel housing
The automatic coal feeder project has been a part of the mechanical engineering capstone course for five years. Previous years’ teams have created a prototype; our team was tasked with improving the reliability of this device. Towards that end, I helped take apart the previous prototype, noting possible improvements. For example, I noticed the ball bearings were clogged with coal dust, so I proposed we replace them with oil-embedded bearings. The handover of information from the previous year’s team was insufficient, so I sought out previous team members to help us understand the system. We navigated constantly changing requirements, such as what feed rate of coal was needed, and the moisture level of the coal. We made a new prototype with increased reliability, and ran it through a series of tests to verify its reliability. While the device needs more work before it’s used, I’m excited to have been able to push this device closer to helping such a large-scale problem.
Stanford Spokes is a yearly student-led initiative where a team of 6-7 Stanford students bike across the US, teaching STEAM workshops in small towns along the way. I was lucky to be a part of the 2022 Spokes team. We began in San Francisco, and ended in Washington, D.C. 70+ days later.
(Photo: In the desert of Nevada, along the “Loneliest Road in America”)
My lesson was centered on teaching scientific inquiry and prototyping through water rockets. I aimed to give my students a taste of the research mindset I have come to enjoy so much. I gave them a question they didn’t have an answer to: how can they improve the water rocket? They created a hypothesis, theorizing that some modification in design will create a change in rocket performance. Then, they experimented, launching the rocket to test their hypothesis. They observed the experiment, and decided what they would do with the results. I hope, by giving the students a taste of hands-on scientific inquiry, I inspired them to see how they are capable of pursuing exciting science. Biking across the country to teach these students showed them how much I valued getting to work with them. They’d ask, “You biked all the way across the country to teach us?” to which I resoundingly answered, “Yes!”
Launching a student team’s water rocket at the Boys and Girls Club in Steamboat Springs, COStretching with “Echo” after an intense day of biking the Sierras into TahoeOur arrival at the Washington Monument
Ever since I was little, I stared longingly at the plans for an oversized gingerbread cathedral at the back of a favorite cookbook. I told my mom, “One day I’ll make this!” to which my mom responded with dubious belief.
Fast forward 8 years: during my freshman year at Stanford, we had a 7-week-long winter break. I decided to create this gingerbread cathedral. However, I wanted it to have a larger benefit. So, I called up the homeless shelter down the street, and together we decided to raffle off the gingerbread cathedral as a fundraiser.
The “skeleton” of the gingerbread cathedral
The windowframes of the cathedral, ready for the sugar “glass”
I then began work on the cathedral. The cookbook’s instructions were closer to loose guidelines, requiring me to think on my feet and navigate ambiguity. The raffle introduced a deadline. I spent many of my waking hours rolling, baking and cutting the 200+ pieces of gingerbread, often working late into the night as I learned to engineer with this material.
As the work wore on, the initial “shininess” of the project wore off. However, the larger good the project was doing helped motivate me through any hardship. The project was no longer about me fulfilling a childhood dream: it was about using my skills to help a cause I believed in.
In the end, I spent 100+ hours over 2.5 weeks of break on the gingerbread cathedral. All of the work was more than worth it. The cathedral raised over $3,800 for the homeless shelter. Local news coverage of the project can be found here.
