Hardware Projects

Rocket-propelled small fast aircraft (Firefly)

Firefly is a small, fast aircraft which can fly at 1000 km/hr and is 10x smaller than any air vehicle of comparable speed. My PhD research focuses on developing a novel, slow-burn solid rocket propulsion system for such aircraft.

read more →

Hoverjet

Hoverjet is a jet-powered, vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft. I designed the airframe and control mechanisms, and led the fabrication and assembly of the vehicle.

read more →

Additively manufactured titanium rocket component

This is a component of our research rocket motor which I designed and which is manufactured by Renishaw plc. It illustrates my experience interacting with a manufacturing shop and using GD&T to communicate in drawings.

read more →

3D printed solid rocket motor

I worked with my Rocket Team teammates and 3D printing startup Markforged to create and fire the first successful rocket motor printed from plastic. Markforged's printers place glass fibers into the part during printing, which helps the plastic to (temporarily) withstand the intense heat of the rocket exhaust.

read more →

Strand burner for solid propellant testing

I designed and built a device to measure the burning rate of solid rocket propellant at elevated pressure. I improved the device though 4 iterations.

read more →

Pyralis rocket engine

I led the development of a 2 kN thrust, ethanol / nitrous oxide, pressure-fed rocket engine with an aerospike nozzle.

read more →

High altitude balloon

As a lab assistant for the Unified Engineering class, I developed a new lab project in which students launch a balloon to the upper stratosphere (70 kft). I designed, built, and flew a prototype balloon with an Arduino-based weather sensing payload. I then wrote an instruction manual for building the system, and coached students though the building and launching process. This photograph was taken by a camera on board one of our baloons.

Rocket-deployed quadrotor

As a sophomore on Rocket Team, I designed and built a quadrotor which folded to fit within a 6 inch diameter rocket. After being launched to 1 mile altitude, the quadrotor would deploy, unfold, and fly autonomously or under remote control. I machined all of the mechanical components and used a Ardupilot Mega for control and communications. I also built and successfully used an emergency parachute system which saved the quadrotor if it lost control.

Assorted side projects

Ice ax

I built my own ice ax for a trip to Mt. Washington. The ax is constructed from steel and poplar, and is reinforced with composites.

read more →

Party blower

A silly device that I designed and printed for my friend's birthday party. It was printed on a Form 2 stereo-lithography printer, which can produce gas-tight parts. *In collaboration with Kelly Mathesius.*

Loft bed

I helped my flatmates to design and build loft beds for our apartment. I put some effort into making drawings and instructions, which enabled us to quickly build two identical beds and assemble them without issues. Unlike many loft bed designs, this structure is sufficiently stiff to handle the expected dynamic loads.