Date
January 2021 - May 2023
Location
Morgantown, WV
Hardware Team Lead
As the hardware team lead, I was responsible for ensuring proper function of the payload, integrating major design components, overseeing the operation of the hardware team, and troubleshooting. I helped to delegate responsibility throughout the team so that we met deadlines. I also acted as an intermediate between the materials science team and the hardware team to ensure that the payload operation met all science requirements.
The WVU Microgravity Research Team was established in 2001 in order to introduce undergraduate students to microgravity research in a meaningful way. The team is highly competitive with only a handful of openings every year. I joined the team during the Spring semester of 2021 where I became the hardware team lead. During the course of our research, we have successfully developed the first cold spray additive manufacturing device for use in microgravity applications as well as the first titanium-dioxide-nanoparticle-microemulsion foam-spray-coating device for microgravity applications.Â
The cold spray additive manufacturing system developed by the WVU Microgravity Research Team utilizes a compressed gas cylinder, in-line heater, and custom converging/diverging (CD) nozzle to accelerate particles past the sound barrier in order to fuse them to a metal substrate. The benefit of cold spray additive manufacturing is that two dissimilar metals can be fused together with minimal energy requirement. This technology is currently used to repair metal parts as well as build up 3D metal parts which require finishing.
The foam spray coating device developed by the WVU Microgravity Research Team deposits a thin layer of a titanium-dioxide-nanoparticle-microemulsion which was developed in conjunction with the WVU Flexible Electronics and Sustainable Technologies Laboratory (FEST Lab). This coating is UV curing and UV blocking, making it an ideal outer layer for habitats on the moon or Mars, as well as space stations. The formulation could also be adapted to incorporate other metal oxides based on availability on other planets or moons.