(CMRAE, MIT)
Neutron Interferometer
(Nuclear Engineering Senior Design Project)
BEAR
(Vecna)
LIBS-SERS Spectroscopy
(Vecna)
FATPAK
(Vecna)
2.2 MeV Cyclotron
(Nuclear Engineering Senior Thesis)
Physics/Engineering Teaching
(Fletcher-Maynard School, Cambridge)
Analog Robotics Teaching
(MIT SPLASH Program)
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Ancient Watercraft Design Analysis
PHOTO / DONNA COVENEY
As a four-year undergraduate research project, I analyzed the mechanical and materials characteristics of pre-Columbian Ecuadorian balsa rafts in conjunction with the Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology (CMRAE) at MIT. There is strong evidence Ecuadorian traders used these rafts to transport large quantities of goods between Ecuador and western Mexico. A number of sixteenth and seventeenth century European documents describe the materials and technologies employed in these rafts.
1619 drawing of a balsa raft by the Dutch envoy Joris van Spilbergen.
In the summer of 2004, three teammates and I built a three-meter replica balsa raft with a carrying capacity of one ton. We sailed this raft on the Charles River in Cambridge to empirically examine balsa rafts' handling characteristics.
Following construction of the prototype raft, I developed software to determine the rafts' feasible size and capacity range, their aerodynamic and hydrodynamic characteristics, and their functional lifetime. This work also allowed my to approximate the times of year that the rafts could be sailed north to Mexico or south to Ecuador, the length of the journey, and potential layover times in Mexico.
CAD model of balsa raft used in simulation experiments
In Spring 2009, I was an instructor for the MIT undergraduate archaeology class Materials in Human Experience (3.094). In the lab portion of this course, students built a five-meter replica Ecuadorian balsa raft, and sailed it on the Charles River. The raft was be constructed of seven one-foot diameter balsa logs donatated to MIT by the Alcan Baltek Corporation.
Neutron Interferometer
Our system incorporates helium-3 cooling, integrated vibration damping, modular spin flippers and spin polarizers. According to our simulations, our system has a signal-to-noise ratio twenty times greater than existing neutron interforometers. We presented the design at the November 2007 American Nuclear Society Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C., where it won the 2007 Undergraduate Design Competition.
BEAR
VIDEO STILL / THE MILITARY CHANNEL
Vecna's Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot (BEAR) is a 6.5 foot tall humaniod, hydraulically-actuated robot capable of dynamic balancing on two tracked legs. I worked primarily on the mechanical design and testing of the BEAR's lower body.
LIBS-SERS Detection
FATPAK
2.2 MeV Cyclotron
For my Nuclear Engineering senior thesis in Spring 2007, I designed and built a cyclotron intended to accelerate protons to 2.2 MeV. Protons of this energy are capable of driving the Li-7 --> He-4 + He-3 reaction. In the above annotated figure, the numbered ports connect to the following subsystems: (1) RF system; (2) vacuum pump to maintain low pressure in the chamber; (3) filament leads for the ion source; (4) a hydrogen supply for the ion source; and (5) a target to collect the accelerated particles.
LED Light Arrays
Other Visual Art
RFID Tag Implantation
Clamps and tag, prior to implantation
Giant My Little Pony
In August 2004, I built a giant Trojan My Little Pony for an undergraduate dorm rush event. It could comfortably seat eight.
Physics/Engineering Teaching at Fletcher-Maynard School, Cambridge
Analog Robotics Teaching
In July and August 2006, I taught an introductory analog robotics class to middle school students in conjunction with MIT's SPLASH program. They learned about circuit design using resistors, capacitors, inductors, LEDs, transistors, and photodiodes. In the last two weeks of the class, we built battery-powered light-seeking robots and used flashlights to move them around the classroom.