Biography:
I am a senior from Bozeman, Montana, graduating April 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering. My current research includes piezoelectric energy harvesting for implementation in aircraft. The goal is to decrease the amount of wiring needed in airplanes. I am also interested in circuit board design. In addition to electricity, I enjoy playing the drums, being outside, and playing games with family and friends.
Projects:
Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting:
Airplanes have become a common form of transportation in the modern world. In a single airplane miles and miles of wiring is used to power the many instrumentation sensors that make and airplane functional and safe. The wiring is complicated and contributes to the weight of the airplane. Piezoelectric energy harvesting is a solution we are researching to eliminate aircraft wiring, especially in testing. Piezo can transform vibrations in the airplane to usable electrical energy to power small sensors. We are looking into the possibility of using piezoelectric energy harvesters to provide power to small sensors or to charge up a battery.