Name: Jacob Frazey
Home Institution: Fort Lewis College
Program: SUNRiSE
Semester: Summer 2021
Mentor: Kelly Nygren
Home Institution: Fort Lewis College
Program: SUNRiSE
Semester: Summer 2021
Mentor: Kelly Nygren
What is the research you are engaged in and what you have accomplished this summer?
For this summer I have been assigned three different projects. The first being a custom fixture that can be mounted into the RAMSII and RAMSIV load frames. This fixture was designed to be able to test elastomer polymer samples in tension and measure the minor force required to rupture these samples. The second being a custom mount for calibration samples for the Structural Materials Beamline (SMB). This mount is designed to hold four separate calibration samples and provides an easier method of performing calibrations promptly. The third is to help fabricate a workflow for the new robotic arm that MSN-C just acquired. Currently, there is no procedure on how this robotic arm should interact with samples that we wish to analyze. So this workflow will help tell the arm how it should interact with these objects and how it can align these for the beamline.
What are the impacts of your research for the general public?
In general these projects are designed to assist the material science division at Cornell. More specifically the SMB. The tension fixture will allow us to measure the force required to rupture the elastomer polymer samples. This is significant due to elastomers being used in a whole host of commercial products such as tires, seals, shoe soles, wet suits, and many more. So being able to measure the force required to break this material is important. We can then understand how these materials will behave while in tension. The calibration mount has more importance to SMB rather than the general public. Its purpose is to allow for quick and easy calibration of the beamline in the lab. Finally, the robotic arms impact. The robotic arm's purpose is to allow for more autonomy when trying to analyze materials. Currently, these analyses are restricted to a tabletop, with the help of a robotic arm we can look at this sample in a full 360-degree fashion. This will help us learn more about the material and better understand how it would behave under stress. The better our understanding of the material the more information we can provide in our results. So if a company would like Cornell's SMB to analyze a material, we would be able to give them more feedback than if the material was constrained to a tabletop.
What did you enjoy most about this research/summer experience?
My favorite part about this internship so far is the people I am working with and the opportunity to take a glimpse into professional engineering work. I also find it enjoyable to use the knowledge I have gained in my undergraduate career to problem-solve these different projects that I have been assigned. This type of work is one of the reasons I want to become an engineer, so having the chance to work on these projects is an honor.
What did you find the most challenging about this research?
The hardest part so far has been adhering to all the constraints in a given project. When designing a component certain parameters will restrict your workspace for design. Working around these parameters and still figuring out a solution can be the hardest part, but these roadblocks are what make the projects interesting. It is similar to a puzzle or a challenge in my eyes, so even with these challenges I still enjoy myself.
How has this experience changed your view about being a researcher?
My view on becoming an engineer has not changed drastically since I started this internship. If it has done anything to change my viewpoint it's that I am now more interested in graduate school and that I have been reaffirmed in my pursuit to become an engineer.