In Summer 2022, I worked at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. (CfA) as a part of the Harvard Solar REU. I then returned to the CfA in Summer 2023 as a High Energy Solar Instrumentation Intern to continue my work from the previous year. 

Throughout my time at the CfA, I worked on developing testing procedures to characterize the noise of back-illuminated CMOS detectors. These detectors are intended for use in an upcoming solar physics mission, the Swift Solar Activity X-ray Imager (SSAXI), a ride-along on the Hi-C sounding rocket mission. SSAXI was delivered to NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in August 2023 and is scheduled for launch in March 2024.

This project focuses on determining the stellar diameters of two symbiotic neutron star systems using optical interferometric data from the CHARA array. We aimed to verify the stellar diameters of the two systems, V934 Her and 4U 1954+31, which were previously reported by spectroscopic data.

I utilized an image reconstruction function and optimization algorithm in the program Julia to process data from the Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) Array. I created several models to determine angular diameter and the limb darkening parameter which were then used to determine stellar diameter. 

I am currently in the process of writing a first-author paper for the Astrophysical Journal that we are aiming to submit in January 2024.

The purpose of this research was to create a novel design for a robot that could explore planetary caves and lava tubes. I was placed in charge of the project and created the initial concept design image on the right.

I dedicated my time to fleshing out its conceptual design into a 3D model as well as simulating the robot’s behavior in Blender and Python. While no prototype was created during my research, the project was passed on to a design team at New Mexico Tech in Fall 2022.

The results of. my research was accepted by  AIAA journal for publication in January 2022, with me as the first author.

The NASA Robotic Mining Competition (RMC)/Lunabotics challenges undergraduate students to design, fabricate, and test an autonomous robot capable of excavating on the lunar surface. I participated in this competition for two years and was project lead in the 2023 competition. 

In 2021 - 2022, I was a part of the excavation subteam and aided in the design and building of an auger-based system. In 2022 - 2023, I became project lead where I managed a diverse, multidisciplinary team (mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, physics, astrophysics) of over 20 students to make sure the team stayed on top of project deadlines. I worked closely with all team members to integrate all subsystems into a cohesive design.

Our team placed 11th and 13th place nationally in the 2022 and 2023 competitions, respectively. Both robots can be viewed in the images to the right

The NASA MINDS Competition challenges undergraduate students at a Minority Serving Institution to develop a design project that can aid the current Artemis Missions.

Our team created a bio-inspired pillbug robot. I co-led science and research during the initial phase of the project to select an initial concept before transitioning to the electrical team to create a comprehensive power system that would allow the robot to roll and unroll itself. I aided in the selection, implementation, and testing of the primary motors and soldering together the system's wiring.

We finalized a prototype (pictured to the right) in April 2022 and published our results as a conference paper in the AIAA journal in January 2023.