EMPOWERING OTHERS
The University of St Thomas did a feature on my transition from active duty to civilian life in 2019. My personal mission statement of "empowering others" is front-and-center in the article. Read the full article here.
BUILDING BRIDGES
It is always a challenge to motivate students to persevere in learning the fundamentals of a subject when these building blocks seem so far removed from any practical application. As an assistant professor I tried to bridge the gap between academics and the real world whenever I could. In 2018 I arranged a field trip for my thermodynamics students to the Martin Drake Power Plant and the Tesla Hydroelectric Power Plant. They received insider tours of the facilities and cut their teeth on practice problems developed by engineers at the plants.
INFORMATION LITERACYIn September 2017 I presented #DiscoverYourLibrary, a paper about engaging millennials with information literacy training, at the 2017 American Society for Engineering Educators Rocky Mountain Section Conference at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT. The paper is currently available for download along with all of the conference proceedings at this link.
AFIT MASTERS THESIS
Measured temperature of the gas inside a small internal combustion engine at various CA50 conditions, compared to thermodynamic models of the same conditions.
I published my master's thesis, Spectroscopic Measurement of Gas Temperature in a Small Internal Combustion Engine, at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). I used a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer to measure the cyclical, transient temperature of the gas inside the cylinder of a small (55 cc) internal combustion engine. Last time I checked, the D'Azzio Research Library at AFIT maintained a record of my thesis and a downloadable .pdf file here. If that link is broken you may download a copy via the icon below:
UGANDA MICRO POWER PLANT
In January 2011 I traveled with a few other students and faculty from the University of St. Thomas to Uganda. This was a successful $25,000 philanthropic project with the goal of producing electricity for lights and charging cell phones in a remote village in Uganda. Solar panels were used to meet the community's needs. The video linked above was filmed during a follow-up visit which I did not participate in, but I contributed some of the photographs used in this video. The accompanying article summarizes the project well.
This project instilled in me a passion for designing for the developing nations of the world. It was the motivation for later involvement with Engineers Without Borders, USA, and side projects that I continue to work on to this day. |
FIRST JOURNAL ARTICLE PUBLICATIONIn September 2020 the ASME Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power published an article I helped author. The article features some of the work I did during my time experimenting with small engines at the Air Force Institute of Technology. The abstract and purchasing information may be found here.
"HAVING A BLAST" AT THE ACADEMY
Instrumented detonation tube with 3D-Printed water-cooled sections, optical access ports and ion probes
3D-Printed Components of the detonation tube
At the United States Air Force Academy I had the privilege of continuing my combustion research with a new emphasis on detonation waves. I worked with an outstanding team of researchers and students on this project.
ACTION-PACKED FINAL REVIEW
As an assistant professor at the United States Air Force Academy, I kept my students engaged with colorful antics that tie relevant course material to interesting problems. Students always enjoyed my final review of engineering statics. If Indiana Jones took my course, he might think twice before swinging from his bullwhip!
INTERVIEW WITH FOX 21 NEWS
I was interviewed by a local Colorado Springs news team about upcoming repairs at the United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel. The picture above links to a video and a full article.
AIAA CONFERENCE PAPER
Spectra of gas spanning the combustion cycle in a small engine with 90 crank angle increments.
I published the preliminary findings of my thesis research on small internal combustion engines at the 2016 AIAA SciTech Conference in San Diego, CA. You can view the abstract and purchase the paper here.
PHOTOGRAPHY
One of my favorite hobbies is photography. Enter the photo gallery to view some of my best work.
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