I recently graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology, pending the completion of my thesis this summer. Through the Mechanical Engineering BS/MS Program, I am obtaining two degrees in five years, studying the automotive option for my undergraduate degree and focusing in solid mechanics for my graduate degree. I also obtained a minor in music from the College of Liberal Arts.

Presently, I am working on my thesis research project for Parker Hannifin. This project began with a three month summer co op assignment that focued on my thesis research. My project involves some exciting proprietary research in the area of diffusion bonding, a manufacturing technique that fuses material through only heat and pressure. I am studying the effects of several process variables on the bond strength through tensile and fatigue testing.

I managed my multidisciplinary senior design team in the winter and spring. Our project was the design and development of a miniature tensile load frame to function and fit inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM) chamber. Some constraints included space, size, vacuum compliance, and cost. The machine withstands a maximum tensile load of 2000 lb and a maximum compressive load of 200 lb. The purpose of the design was to allow dynamic microscopic observation of distortion and crack growth in material defects, welds, and bond lines during a tensile test. The design utilizes a variable speed position control system for that can be run through a computer with LabView software. Visit the team website for more details.

I completed two co op blocks with The Gleason Works, a major machine tool manufacturer for gear cutting, grinding, testing, and lapping equipment. Working for them during the winter quarter of 2001-02 and during the summer of 2002, I learned all sorts of interesting tidbits about gear manufacturing. I also have been given a thorough education in Pro/Engineer. Pro is one of the best drafting/modeling/analysis packages available and I find it to be very valuable in my work. In fact, all models and drawings for the Senior Design project were created with Pro Engineer, a result of my training at Gleason.

My first job experience was a three-month assignment with the National Center for Remanufacturing and Resource Recovery at RIT during the summer of 2001. I worked on various projects with corporations to design their products to be remanufactured, reused, or recycled. This not only keeps the environment clean, but it allows businesses to save the money and energy required to make new parts from scratch, when old parts can be reconditioned, reassembled, or incorporated into newer designs.

I taught the Materials Science Lab four times while at RIT. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to teach, as it offered a different perspective of college, the instructor's point of view. Teaching has made me a better student and being a good student has helped me to become a better teacher. I always incorporated helpful techniques that my instructors used to keep students interested and encourage their success. During the lab, we focused on topics such as metallographic specimen preparation, analysis of microstructures, hardness testing, polymers, fracture analysis, compression and bending testing of concrete, impact testing, the effects of strain hardening on ductility and yield strength, precipitation hardening, hardenability of steel with respect to carbon content, and the Jominy end quench test.

The Rochester Institute of Technology has some of the most up to date equipment in our labs. A recent grant from the Gleason Foundation provided the College of Engineering with $6.1 million to further upgrade our facilities and expand the engineering building. I have experience with many different experiments and apparatuses, including vibration absorbers and vibrating beam experiments, a scale model subsonic wind tunnel, a horizontal pipe flow experiment, heat exchangers, tension and torsion testing machines (with and without electronic data acquisition), Rockwell and Brinell hardness testers, an impact tester, a Jominy end quench machine, grinding and polishing equipment, and microscopes with digital imaging capabilities for examining microstructures. To top it off, I also have experience in the machine shop with several machines including the mill, lathe, drill press, and speed lathe. In my one year on the Formula Racing Team, I worked on the body group, using sheet metal in addition to composites such as carbon fiber, fiberglass, and Kevlar to help build the seat, radiator shroud, and the bodywork for the car.

In addition to Pro/Engineer, I have used I-Deas and ANSYS for modeling and finite element analysis. I am familiar with Matlab, Simulink and Maple in addition to the Microsoft Office suite.

If you would like to see my resume, please email me and I'll send you a copy.