Feel free to scroll past the resume to see a list of other interesting projects I've been involved in!
Extended Experience
Education and Training
BA, Foreign Languages - University of Alaska, Fairbanks - June 2011
Concentration in Japanese and German
Computer/Detection Systems Repairer, MOS-Qualified 94F - US Army Reserves, 2012-2018
I served in the Army Reserves for 6 years, gaining experience as an electronics technician. I used this experience to get my first jobs as an electronics technician, eventually leading me to going back to school for engineering.
Research Projects
Principal Investigator, AELSS NIAC Proposal - August 2018
This was a proposal I submitted to the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Grant Program while I was working at Tethers Unlimited.
I didn't get accepted, but it was a good continuation of the Duckweed Project I've been working on since 2015. (see school projects below)
School Projects
Design Engineer - Spider Ball Solid-State Robot - EWU Engineering Dept. - June 2016 - June 2017
This was my capstone project for my Electrical Engineering degree. We designed and fabricated a semi-spherical robot whose movement was enabled by powerful hand-made electromagnets. The concept was to create a solid-state robot that could attach itself to and move on large pieces of ferro-magnetic metal, such as ship hulls or other steel infrastructure. My capstone partner and I fabricated the entire hull, and used old microwave transformers to wind the electromagnets. The electromagnets could lift well over 150 lbs on a 24-volt supply. We also performed all the electrical design and programming to make the electromagnets fire in order, such that the robot could roll. The shape of the robot was designed so that it would roll in a straight line, and could tip up on-end to turn.
Project Manager - Duckweed Project - Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge - Dec 2015 - June 2016
The Alaska Airlines EIC is a yearly competition for students across the state to come up with and implement a "world-changing" idea with regard to the environment. Our objective was to study fast-growing plants and their ability to sequester carbon in themselves, and what could be done with that vegetable matter to further sequester the CO2 out of the atmosphere. We were awarded $1500 for this competetive grant to do our research, and set up a small lab in my basement to grow duckweed. Our intent was to compare the natural growth rate of duckweed to it's growth rate when it was 'fed' extra CO2, as a lot of research has shown that plants can grow up to 10x faster when they are fed CO2 in this way. I led and managed the 6-person team to set up the plants and electronics in my basement, the biology research, business research, and writing of a business plan for the competition. We designed and built a prototype, then pitched and demonstrated the technology at the final competition in March of 2016, where we were finalists in the EIC competition!
Electrical Engineer - NASA Rocketry Scholarship - North Seattle College - 2015
This was a competetive grant I won with 4 other students while I was at North Seattle College starting my engineering degree. Together we designed electronic payloads for two model rockets. We assembled them, installed them in the rocket, and all went to the launch site together in the middle of Washington to launch them. The payloads took HD video, as well as recording a variety of telemetry data. We also all assembled our own personal rockets, launched them at the site, and all acquired our National Association of Rocketry (NAR) level 1 qualifications!
Hobbies
I also have a wide variety of hobbies!
I moved into a new hoome in Duvall about three years ago, so my primary focus has been renovating everything myself, which has taken ALL my free time. The home was built in 1964, and hasn't been update since, so the renovation is from the ground up.
I really enjoy metalworking - I've been blacksmithing since about 2013, and have made a variety of tools, knives, hammers, housewares etc. I also do Repousse and Chasing, which is a metalworking technique for soft sheets of copper, brass, silver, and gold. It uses a small hammer and a variety of blunt patterned chisels to gradually push designs into the metal. I forged the chisels myself, giving me a lot of control over what patterns I can make. Here's a few of my favorites!
I am also starting a small farm on our property, since we have the room to do so! I currently have 7 sheep (and counting, only a month until we have lambs!), 13 ducks that live on my pond, and 5 dogs, 3 of whom live with and guard the sheep. I'm also starting gardens on the property to see just how much food we can produce here!