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Research
Silver Experience
ENME 444 Capstone Design
ENME 408 Biomaterials Design & Design Optimization
Through the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters, I had the opportunity to work on several research projects related to different aspects of the biomechanical and biomedical fields. My experience is a combination of several courses at UMBC. ENME 444, Mechanical Engineering Systems Design (Capstone), and two ENME 408 courses. The ENME 408 courses include Biomaterials and Design Optimization. Between these courses I will participate in extensive research to be applied to biomechanical and biomedical devices. This would fall under creating tools of scientific discovery because it involves creating things that do not already exist. It could be applied in more ways to help engineer more tools of scientific discovery. In Capstone, my team modified a treadmill through research and design for a woman with disabilities so that she would be able to exercise and regulate her hypertension. In the Biomaterials class, a specific design for a medical implant to improve cataract surgery will be created or modified in order to improve the performance of existing devices. This will include researching and designing a program or process to bring the design into practice. In the Design Optimization course, a problem to be optimized needed to be created. My team selected cost minimization of a lower limb prosthetic. This required research into the function of the human body, the forces at work in the body, the different potential materials for the different components of the prosthetic, and the geometry of the prosthetic. This project requires programming to optimize a design, which can be applied not just to the specific lower limb prosthetic that my team is looking at, but in a variety of engineering design applications.
Reflection
My research experience has provided me with the opportunity to improve my ability to be an active team member, which requires flexibility. Working in a team for each of these research projects required the team members to be understanding of the trying times we are in and be flexible with working on the project. Team members were ready to step in and help on certain tasks that were not originally assigned to them, and open communication was kept at all times between team members. These projects also required integrity. For example, modifying data to get desired results is unethical and does not hold with the trait of integrity. I was able to hold myself, and my team, accountable for our actions and final products. Through this experience, I was required to complete thorough research and documentation in order to remain organized, clear, concise, and accurate. Each of these projects had a final paper portion, where the final product had to be effectively communicated. This included the components, the impact, and the process of creation. These papers required me to improve my clear and effective writing. These projects allowed me to connect different aspects across the biomechanical and biomedical engineering fields. The research and data collected from one project proved useful in the other projects due to their related nature. I effectively formulated a question and hypothesis, specifically for design optimization. The problem to be optimized was created by my team, and we came up with all of the design constraints and the best way in which to optimize the design. Each project required research papers from various authors to be read and understood. Also for each, the project was presented to practitioners in their respective disciplines. The practitioners held check ins and provided feedback during the process. I improved my ability to predict, recognize, and weigh risks and benefits of the project. Each project required various analyses of risk vs reward. Methods such as cost/benefit analysis or system requirement specifications were utilized. Using documentation of ideal systems included in the device was used along with cost/benefit analysis to determine what systems should be implemented. Creativity was another important factor because being able to connect different ideas is crucial in research. Each of these projects required information from various research papers and research to be understood and applied in new, interesting ways.