Multidisciplinary Competency

This course will be one of the most essential classes throughout my collegiate career. This is because FSE150 isn't just a competency that needs to be completed for the Grand Challenges Scholar Program, but it's also a stepping stone that will impact the kind of engineer I want to be when I receive my degree. This was done through in-class activities, projects, and homework assignments.

The two most significant class activities for me that we did in class will impact how I think as an engineer and what I want to do with the knowledge I gained at ASU. In one of the first lectures of the class, we examined and analyzed videos of how water pumps were designed for underdeveloped countries, but they were created in a way that allowed children to pump water by playing with the technology. The videos showed that, initially, the pumps were a resounding success. These villages were drinking clean water, and the kids were having fun. As time passed, however, the kids grew tired of playing at the water pump all the time, so the mothers had to take over pumping the water. Meanwhile, the water pumps also began to break down in the village. The company that owned the water pumps would receive requests to fix them, but they wouldn't help. This made me realize that while we should always strive to help as engineers, we shouldn't stop at one act of kindness; instead, we should continually help those around us and refine our ideas to benefit everyone. 

The second in-class activity was one from Joy of Living. We were paired up, and each of us was given three cards. One of the cards represented a person we were pretending to be, and the other two represented the technology our character had. The goal of the activity was to trade your technology with others to obtain technology that would benefit you in some way. My character was that of a “sweatshop worker,” and while trying to trade with other classmates, it was hard to find something that would somehow benefit us. We ended up trading for a mattress topper and nanotechnology for her eyes. After that, we had to explain how the technology we received would benefit us, and it was challenging to convey the benefits. The main takeaways were that while an engineer can create almost anything they set their mind to, that doesn't mean it needs to be made, because it might not truly help people, or the people it could help might be unable to afford it.

Being a part of GCSP and taking the FSE150 class also allowed me to network with students, classmates, and engineering professors. My group for the Future Solutions project was amazing. Learning from them from their perspectives was very interesting. I opened my mind up to new ideas and such. Through a flyer sent via the GCSP email, I learned about a possible research opportunity with Professor Nicholas Ralston. I emailed him expressing my interest, and he agreed to meet with me in person to explain the FURI process and discuss his research. He worked on solar panels and batteries, specifically making them more environmentally friendly by modifying the processes and materials used, which allowed them to perform more efficiently and cost-effectively. I expressed interest in joining his team because, although I was a mechanical engineer, I wanted to learn more about batteries and ways to make them eco-friendly for the environment. I also want to learn more than just what my major teaches me, and here, I would learn about different materials and apply my understanding as well. 

Overall, my time in FSE150 will be extremely valuable to me because I can think of engineering not just as a math or physics problem, but as a tool I can use to help myself and those around me, and to make the world a much better place. Class activities emphasized improving solutions and prioritizing accessibility in engineering. FSE150 expanded my network and led to research opportunities, deepening my interdisciplinary understanding of sustainable technology and materials. 

 Interdisciplinary Competency

SOC334

The course Science, Technology & Society (SOC334) explored the complex relationship between technology and the world around us, emphasizing how social values, institutions, and ethics shape technological development and use. Throughout the semester, I gained a deeper appreciation for how technologies are not just tools but reflections of the societies that create them. The class encouraged me to think critically about how innovation can both solve and contribute to global challenges such as climate change, inequality, and resource depletion.

What I found most valuable about this course was how it pushed me to look beyond the technical aspects of engineering and consider the broader impacts of technology. Through readings, class discussions, and analytical writing, I examined how decisions in design, manufacturing, and policy affect people and the environment. I learned that technology is never neutral; it always reflects certain priorities, trade-offs, and values. Understanding this helped me think more carefully about the kind of future I want to help build as an engineer. A particularly meaningful part of the course was learning to apply ethical and sustainability frameworks, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to real-world technological issues. These frameworks offer a global perspective on how innovation can align with goals such as clean energy, responsible production, and social equity. The course helped me connect abstract sustainability principles to tangible outcomes, such as reducing waste, conserving energy, and designing with environmental justice in mind.

This class directly supports my Grand Challenge Scholars Program (GCSP) theme of sustainability. It deepened my understanding of how technologies influence and depend on sustainable systems, from material sourcing to long-term environmental impact. I also gained insights into how engineers can promote sustainable progress by balancing economic growth, social responsibility, and environmental protection. Reflecting on this experience, SOC334 has been an important complement to my studies in mechanical engineering. It gave me a broader social and ethical framework for thinking about my future career, where I hope to contribute to sustainable innovation and responsible design. The course reminded me that technical knowledge alone is not enough creating meaningful change requires understanding the human and environmental context in which technology operates.

Talent Competency

Fulton Undergraduate Research Initiative (FURI)

My research project, “Producing Printable Na-based Solid-State Electrolyte Films Using Open-Air Processing,” focuses on developing affordable and scalable materials for sodium-based solid-state batteries. The goal of this work is to understand how the annealing process affects the conductivity and phase formation of sodium superionic conductor (NASICON) thin films and to make these films more accessible through open-air processing. This research aims to enhance the manufacturing process for solid-state electrolytes (SSEs), which are crucial for developing safer, more stable, and sustainable energy storage systems.

Over the course of two semesters of FURI research, I worked on preparing and characterizing NASICON films using various processing techniques. The process involved combining sodium carbonate, ammonium dihydrogen phosphate, silicon dioxide, and yttria-stabilized zirconia, along with a polymer binder (PVP) and ethanol to form a precursor solution. This mixture was refined using wet ball milling to ensure proper mixing and achieve the desired particle size. The resulting solution was blade-coated onto silicon substrates to create uniform thin films. These films were then dried on a hot plate and annealed using Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP) at temperatures between 900 °C and 1100°C to promote NASICON phase formation. During my earlier trials, I faced several technical challenges, including issues with film adhesion and incomplete phase formation. When the ball-milling machine was unavailable, I had to adapt by using a vortex mixer, which limited the material’s mechanical refinement. Although the resulting films showed good adhesion and conductivity, the desired NASICON phase was not achieved. In later experiments, I optimized the process by adjusting the binder concentration and diluting the solution with ethanol, which improved adhesion and uniformity. These steps were crucial in refining the procedure toward achieving both high conductivity and the NASICON phase. Throughout this project, I used X-ray diffraction (XRD) to verify phase formation and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to measure ionic conductivity. Comparing results with existing literature allowed me to assess whether my films exhibited the expected sodium-ion conduction behavior. This iterative process of testing, analyzing, and refining provided me with hands-on experience in experimental design and materials characterization skills directly relevant to my field of mechanical and materials engineering.

This research strongly connects to my Grand Challenge Scholars Program (GCSP) theme of sustainability. By focusing on sodium-based solid-state electrolytes, this work explores an alternative to lithium-ion batteries, which have well-documented environmental and ethical concerns due to intensive mining and limited recyclability. Sodium, on the other hand, is far more abundant and less environmentally damaging to source. By developing open-air processing techniques, this research also aims to reduce the manufacturing cost and energy demand of solid-state battery production, thereby making sustainable energy storage more accessible and scalable. Reflecting on the value of this experience, I believe this project has significantly influenced my academic and professional goals. It strengthened my understanding of sustainable materials engineering and gave me practical experience in laboratory problem-solving, data analysis, and process optimization. I also learned the importance of persistence in research, as well as how small adjustments can lead to significant improvements in performance and sustainability. This project has prepared me to pursue future work in renewable energy materials and sustainable manufacturing, where I can apply both the technical and ethical perspectives I have gained through this experience. Overall, this research has been a defining part of my GCSP journey, connecting hands-on materials science with the global challenge of creating cleaner, more sustainable energy systems.