For my project, I am working with Matthew Hall and Payton Brown. Since UPEI has recently gotten a wave tank, they are looking to do testing for off-shore wind turbines. To do this, they would need a scaled version of a wind turbine, and of course, the waves and wind. Dr. Hall thought it would be better to do this another way. Instead of creating real wind, we can simulate the amount of thrust a turbine would feel from the wind by mounting a fan structure on top of the turbine's tower. My project here will be using different quadcopter parts to build this structure, and programing it to experience a certain amount of thrust compared to a real turbine.

Week 3 of the program we got lots of time to work on our project. Payton and I soldered and wired our materials, then wrote the code to control the motor. After many attempts, we finally got it to spin correctly. Next, I began looking at ways to mount my microcontroller, and motor to the top of the turbine's tower. We decided it would be best to design and 3D print the mount. I also designed a propeller guard on SolidWorks. For extra activities, we got to use the laser cutter, and we went to lunch at Engineers PEI. A really fun activity we had friday morning was when we got to work with the girls from Japan to build wind turbines out of everyday objects. Although ours didn't work, we had a lot of fun.

This week's reflection was on Julie Payette and Jennifer Sidey-Gibbons; two women engineers who became astronauts. Julie Payette is our Governor General of Canada, She plays with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, and can speak 4 languages. Although Jennifer Sidey-Gibbons hasn't been to space yet, she was one of only two recruits selected by the CSA in July 2017. She got her Ph.D. and worked as a professor to undergraduate students.

It's amazing to see these young women who have accomplished so much. The fact that both girls are Canadian and studied engineering in University, makes their stories so heartwarming and inspirational. Growing up, my father and I shared a passion for space and it's mysteries. When I was quite young, the field was dominated by men, and although it was my biggest dream, it seemed unachievable to become an astronaut being a young girl. As I grew older, I saw more and more women get into the field, and this unachievable dream seemed more and more possible. I hope these two amazing women know how much of an impact they make on young girl's lives each day. Without them, these little girls' dreams might be crushed by the fear of unattainability.

For this week's reflection, we watched a TED Talk by Debbie Sterling. Debbie is a female engineer who invented GoldieBlocks, a construction toy to teach girls about engineering. Throughout her schooling, she always felt like she didn't fit in, being one of few girls in her classes. Even after university, she didn't feel accepted in the engineering field. She didn't want young girls to feel like they couldn't be engineers, so she invented GoldieBlocks. After many rejections, the toy finally took off on Kick Starter, and thousands of little girls got to learn about engineering in a fun and creative way.

Debbie's speech was one of the most captivating and empowering TED Talks I have ever seen. The disrespect and humiliation she had to go through just for being a woman is something that no girl should ever have to go through. Her dedication for inspiring young girls was far too strong to be shattered by the rude and demeaning comments she received. Her research on the cognitive abilities of both men and women reminded me that a girl should never feel like she isn't supposed to be smart. One part of this speech that really stuck with me was when Debbie talked about her childhood. She said that people would tell her she is so smart, but all she ever wanted to be told is that she was pretty. This is one of the biggest problems in our society; to have young girls believe their looks are more important than academics. The toys offered for girls (barbies, makeup, princesses etc.) are teaching them that beauty is everything. Thanks to projects like Debbie's, girls are being taught the importance of their brains rather than appearance.

This TED Talk left me with a feeling of pride. Debbie told an emotional story with the desire to show girls that they are just as important in the engineering field as men. I hope that everyone who watched her TED Talk will now understand the struggles that women engineers are facing everyday, and that this will help to resolve these problems for the future generations of creative, talented girls.

The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals are very ambitious, as these are the biggest problems in our society today. If we were able to accomplish these goals, our world would be a much better place. Engineers are capable of solving these problems, because their job is to design a product or system that will fix a given problem. With the help of sustainable design engineering, it is definitely possible that these goals will be met.

Abby Wambach's speech was empowering and beautiful. Using a metaphor to describe women as a wolf pack was brilliant. It added so much strength and power to her message. My favourite quote was "We are the wolves! Let's take the ball and change the world!". Out of context, this quote wouldn't make sense, but as you watch the speech, it gives you goosebumps.