digital resume
Download: Bibliography for Thesis Defense @ The Cooper Union
Mechanical engineer and designer specializing in heat transfer, instrumentation, biomaterials and mycology. Research interests include circular design, regenerative agriculture, soil remediation and decentralized technologies.
September 2022 - Present
Developing IoT solutions for subsistence and family farmers with a focus on permaculture. MUDBUG stands for Multi-Use Data acquisition Bio Unit Group. One of 23 teams in the nation to be recently awarded $5000 by VentureWell. Currently invited by NSF to apply to their stage 1 seed fund. More updates soon!
June 2023 - August 2023
Currently teaching an updated, 6-week course for high school juniors and seniors studying STEM over the summer. The course covers mycology, the design cycle, circular economies, as well as the basics of acoustics, heat transfer, and material science. Students are currently finalizing designs for custom acoustic panels for the podcasting space being developed at the Loisaida Center. Additionally, they are practicing mold fabrication and working with mycomaterials by designing and making several different household objects, that range from lampshades, keyboards, cat toys, and seat cushions. All molds are fabricated at Cooper’s shops and AACE Lab, and installation of first completed panels will take place on August 16th, 2023. The final showcase is on August 17th, 2023, at Cooper’s Great Hall.
October 31, 2023
Wrote a paper on the design, fabrication, and data collection from a low-cost linear heat conduction module (LHCM), was accepted in ASME’s IMECE conference, and a final draft was submitted on July 31st, 2023. LHCM’s can determine the thermal conductivity of thermally conductive metals, but do not perform well when measuring the thermal conductivity of thermally insulative materials.
August 2022 - May 2023 Recouping waste from projects at the Cooper Union’s AACE Lab. By creating a recycling network within the Cooper Union that will process waste PLA and PMMA from fabrication projects, a foundation will be set for eventually recycling all plastics on campus in the near future.
January 2022 - December 2022
Designed and fabricated novel silicone tubes that actuate with pressure in early 2022. Led work on finite element analysis using explicit solvers for the tubes to bolster a paper submitted in IROS in early 2023.
January 2022 - August 2022
Designed a 3-week course that I taught twice for two groups of high school sophomores studying STEM over the summer. The course covered four key areas: mycology, the design cycle, circular economy, and acoustics. Students designed custom acoustic panels for specific locations within a local theater at the Loisaida Center. They then fabricated the molds at the Cooper Union, and grew their own mycelium panels in the lab. Installation of more panels made from the students’ designs will take place in the spring of 2023.
Student Technician responsible for servicing and fixing equipment, and aiding students on the projects they are working on. Projects include 3D-printing molds for silicone casting, designing enclosures for electronic projects, testing novel plastics, recycling failed 3D prints, and creating low-cost eye wear.
September 2020 - August 2022
Lead at the Cooper Union Sustainable Agriculture Project, working on small-scale modular sustainable agriculture design. Worked on aquaponic systems, investigating the symbiotic relationship between amano shrimp and kale suspended in a tank. Also was a collaborator with the new BioArt Lab that will be created soon in 41 Cooper Square after receiving funding from Cooper Union’s Presidential Grant.
Studied the effect on biochar on soil and crop health, and formulated a plan for the Barbara Ford Peace Center to create biochar in house from various sources of local organic waste. Read more about my time there here PDF
Assisted in creating a predictive model to assess the hazard potential for wildfires over the contiguous United States using geospatial raster data with Theo Jaquenoud and Kevin Kerliu. Check out this amazing article about the project by Theo!
Project was conducted as part of a graduate level class ECE-471: Machine Learning Topics in Remote Sensing and Earth Observation at The Cooper Union
Summer 2020
Founder of a discussion group that met during the summer that turned to philosophy as a guide during the crisis. Over ten sessions of two hours or longer were hosted on zoom to a varying group of 10-30 people from Brazil, UK, US, and Japan with almost 50 total members. @pandemic.philosophy on IG (inactive).
Winter 2019
Working with Paul Garrin on numerous projects, such as installing wifi amplifiers and routers across the lower east side for nonprofits that work with Paul to have access to free internet.
September 2019 - February 2021
Physical and digital work to move Cooper’s entire physical collection of media from all lectures and talks given in the Great Hall to an online database
July 2019 - August 2019 Program; (tinyurl.com/Fauceta)
Developed a leak and drip preventing faucet attachment invention called “Fauceta”. During the six week competition, I presented weekly updates to a panel of guest evaluators each week, each time refining my concept, software CAD model in SolidWorks, and physical custom-machined prototype. I also filed a provisional patent application for the invention.
June 2019 - August 2019
Created a custom animation for JED to send to its national volunteer network as a method to increase email engagement. Reached out to numerous hiking organizations to help JED gain the necessary knowledge on the best way to further their peer-to-peer fundraising initiative.
Fall 2018
Led fellow freshmen engineers to design a folding joint system for a lightweight, biodegradable tent made of bamboo under guidance of Professor Toby Cumberbatch. The goal of the project was to design a solution for refugees on the move that did not leave waste behind that could one day be adopted by the UN.
February - June, 2018
Spent 5 weeks in São Paulo, Brasil, as a teaching assistant and mentor to help the first group of 10th graders at the new Avenues São Paulo campus acclimate to discussion and project-based learning.
May 2018 (6pm - Midnight)
Invited philosophers from around NYC to come and lecture at my highschool for a night filled with powerful discourse and conversation surrounding the central theme of “dreams”, after attending and being inspired by Brooklyn Public Library’s Annual Night of Philosophy Event
September 2016 - June 2018
Content and Curriculum lead for Design 4 Impact, a student-run startup aiming to bring Design Thinking to K-12 Education
Since 2016 - August 2022
Tutored multiple elementary and middle school students ranging all ages on their Math and English skills as well as constructed my own customized lessons for younger students learning Piano in Music Schools.
June 2016 - September 2016, Avenues NY
Ran diagnostics on multiple Mac laptops, iPads, and desktops and fixed broken projectors and outlets.
Thesis: Development of Low Cost Apparatuses for Measuring Thermal Conductivity of Natural and Synthetic Materials Using Steady-State Methods
Bioengineering Research Fellowship, Dore Ashton Interdisciplinary Research Fellowship for Social Engagement, Murray Sackman Fellowship, Cooper Union Presidential Grant
Bachelor in Science and Engineering: August 2018 - May 2022
Graduated with Minor in Philosophy, Mechanical Engineering Design Award, and Benjamin Menschel Fellowship
Languages: Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish
Pianist
Fabrication: Woodworking, FDM & STL Printing, Lasercutting, Melco Embroidery, 3D Scanning
Hand-drawn Animation
Software Proficiency: Adobe Suite, various CAD, Ansys Workbench, A-frame + 8thWall
Licenses: PADI Open Water Scuba Cert, NY Driver’s License
Photography: @qu14u, or Pexels Photos
October 2015 - September, 2018, 423 W 46th St, New York, NY 10036
Weekly volunteer at the St. Clement’s Food Pantry. Revamped the check-in system for pantry guests, raised money to purchase two Apple computers and a laser-printer to run the check-in system for the pantry, and organized a team to re-wax the floors, clean out the food storage space, repaint the walls, fixed the staircase and built a bookshelf out of scrap MDF in my school’s shop space for guests to pick out free books from.
March 20th, 2017 Co-facilitated a conversation and Q&A with Fátima Ptacek featuring Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Megan Fontanella.
October 2014, Avenues NY Translated a half-hour long talk given by an atomic bomb survivor to my peers, followed by Q&A session where I translated the questions for the speaker, and the responses given live.
September 2014 - June 2018, New York, NY
President of the Student Council (2 Years)
Captain of Cross Country and Track team
Wrote various articles for and created artwork for the cover of the student magazine: The Highliner
Jazz Band (Performing at Holy Apostles Church for Annual Gala in 2016, 2017, & 2018)
September 2013 - August 2014, Osaka, Japan
Lived in Kyoto, Japan, and attended an international school in Osaka, where I focused on achieving fluency in Japanese. (Member of Triathlon Club)