Graduate Student, Colorado State University
Mechanical Engineering
Personal Interests
Computational Fluids - My research involves the study of
airflow inside of a laboratory fume hood. The project goal is to use public
domain computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software to model the airflow.
The software being used is a code called Explicit Algorithm for Continuous
Turbulent fluid flow (EXACT) and it has been adapted from a room air flow
code to a fume hood airflow code. This code generates velocity, pressure,
and temperature field by solving the Navier-Stokes equations. The image
shown here is the velocity field data processed with plotting software.
Space Station - prior to my graduate studies at CSU I worked at NASA as an instructor for the Space Station Thermal Control System. The space station is a masterpiece of engineering and science (keep in mind that this engineering and science is connected to politicians who manage the program and as such sometimes the returns are greatly diminished).
Space Station Assembly Information
This link connects you to a page at the Johnson Space Center where you can look at the American/Russian/European/Japanese team plan to assemble the space station over 43 launches and 4 years. Each flight has its own page, picture, and descriptive information. Right now my favorite is flight 11A where the thermal control system becomes fully functional.
F-16 - When I got out of school (undergraduate degree in Aerospace Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder) I spent about 2 years in Fort Worth, TX working on the F-16. The F-16 was always one of my favorite airplanes as a kid and it was great to actually be a part of the program. I worked in the structural design department, mainly using CADAM/CATIA software to design small structural parts in the center fuselage. This link connects to a picture of the F-16. If you look incredibly close on the top of the aircraft, just in front of the tail, you can see a skin patch I designed.