Blog 10 – Interview 2 Reflection

~The James Webb Space Telescope, also widely known as the Next Generation Space Telescope, is the successor instrument to the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope. The James Webb Space Telescope is one example that my mentor, Eric Fodran, talked about during my interview and mentorship on October 30th. 

1. Please explain how you are spending your mentorship time (Is it at a workplace or somewhere else?  Are you shadowing?  Are you able to do tasks that are meaningfully related to the topic?  If so, what?  Are there other people who are experts in the location?  Etc...)
• Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to spend a lot of mentorship time with Dr. Fodran. Yesterday, October 30th, 2015, was the first time I met him. We spent the entire time going through the historical gallery of the visitors center at Northrop Grumman, discussed about the Aerospace field and talked about ways I fulfill my mentorship hours with him.
2. How did you find your mentor?  How did you convince this person to help you?
• I found my mentor through my first interviewee, Kristina Lopez. After my first interview, Kristina Lopez and I exchanged contact informations and she was able to hand my contact information over to Eric Fodran. Both Dr. Fodran and Ms. Lopez work at northrop Grumman Corporation. Ms. Lopez was the one who had asked Dr. Fodran if he could help me with my senior project; however, it was only after my interview with Dr. Fodran that I was able to fully explain to him what the senior project is and how he can help me.
3. How would you rate your comfort level with your mentor at this point in your relationship?  How does this relate to the time you've spent so far at mentorship/with this person
• Even though I only met Dr. Fodran yesterday, I would probably rate my comfort level at around 6/7 out of 10. Initially, I was intimidated knowing that he has a PhD in engineering. I was actually afraid of saying or doing something stupid in front of him; however, meeting him in person really helped me because now I at least know what he looks like, how he acts, etc. I think that Dr. Fodran is someone who I can definitely spend time with for my senior project. He seemed to be very laid-back but at the same time, was also very knowledgeable on my field of interest.
• Obviously safety is very important, I had to take in the fact that his workplace is about an hour away from school. Knowing that he does work at Northrop Grumman--which is an American aerospace and defense company--also relieved me of some stress that he is dangerous/someone I cannot trust.
4. What went well in this interview?  Why do you think so?  What do you still need to improve?  How do you know?  How will you go about it?
• I believe that I was able to obtain some very valuable information pertaining to my senior topic. It also allowed me to talk to my mentor about how he can help me with the senior project throughout the year. I think it’s because of how the conversation flowed. Even after I stopped recording the audio(for the interview), there weren’t really any awkward moments in the conversation. He seemed to be very curious about the senior project and tried to think of ways to help me. He tried to think of possible discussion questions I can use for my senior topic, and also tried to think of ways I can do my mentorship hours with him. I believe that for my next interview, I should probably word my interview questions better. While my questions did lead to meaningful discussions, he often had to ask for clarifications on what I was asking. I will be able to do this by using my prep time more effectively(e.g. spending more time thinking about questions I might ask).

Interview 2 Audio

Interview 2 Text

Blog 9 – Advisory Prep 3

~McDonnell Douglas DC-10 assembly line.

1. State whether or not you currently have a mentor, and what the status of your interview is with that person (I have completed the interview, I have scheduled the interview, I have not scheduled the interview, etc).
• My mentor is Eric Fodran. I am hoping to  do my interview on Saturday,October 24, 2015, in person. This will be my first time meeting him because he has just gotten back from a business trip.
2. At this point, your research is probably guiding your studies toward more specific areas within your topic.  Name the area or two you find most promising and explain your reasons.   
• I am really interested in aircraft manufacturing and aircraft designing. I find aircraft manufacturing to be really promising because of the amount of research I can do. There are just so many factors that go into aircraft manufacturing, like manufacturing strategies that can improve the cost effectiveness of aircraft. Moreover, the actual quality of any product depends on the manufacturing process. While I do believe that there is really nothing wrong with current manufacturing techniques, I think that there are ways to improve them. The other area I am interested in is the designing phase. When I picked my senior topic, aerospace engineering, I always thought of the design phase. I wanted to learn more about how an aircraft is designed and tested; however, as I did research throughout the year, I learned that being able to find mentorship on this is very hard and is almost impossible. First, finding a mentorship who will allow you to talk about the projects they are working on is impossible; finding a mentor by itself is hard. Next, even if I did find a suitable mentor for this topic, it would be difficult for me to learn what they are doing. Designing an aircraft involves a lot of math; mostly math that I have not done yet.
3. What kinds of sources do you think will help you in the next month to gain more research depth?  Where will you go to get them?
• I think that I can gain more research depth by finding scholarly articles and research journals. In fact, I am already trying to do this using the Cal Poly Pomona databases. In addition to this, I can also use textbooks and articles from the Cal Poly Pomona library.
4. Write down a possible EQ.  Please don't worry about wording other than ensuring that it provides the option for multiple correct answers.  At this point, the senior team is most interested in understanding your thought process.
• How can one reach maximum cost efficiency with today’s feasible technology?
• I really like this question because it can be answered in many ways. For example, I talked about how the manufacturing process determines the quality of the aircraft. According to one of the research articles I’ve read, “Design for Manufacturing of Composite Structures for Commercial Aircraft – the Development of a DFM Strategy at SAAB Aerostructures,” the manufacturing process is actually what determines the aircraft’s price.  Another way I can answer this is by using the other sub-topic of Aerospace–the design process. For example, fuel efficiency of aircraft is something that engineers always try to improve on. This can be achieved in multiple ways, with the two biggest being the wing design and the engine design. These are only two ways I can answer this essential question. I believe that with more research I can find more specific answers to this.

Blog 8 – Independent Component 1 Proposal

~While the Wright Brothers' first successful powered flight is the most well known events in aviation history, there have been countless other attempts in flying before that. In fact, gliders(specialized aircraft that does not use engines) were already being used by those who wanted to create the first successful powered aircraft.  

1. Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.
• For my independent component, I want to build a small aircraft from scratch. I plan on using cheap recyclable materials like plastic, wood, etc. to build this. The aircraft will most likely be a glider because the addition of engines might overcomplicate the entire project. I am, however, open to any changes that might be needed. If I happen to get the necessary knowledge/skills, then there is a possibility that I will include engines, flaps, and other moving parts that will give me control over the aircraft. The entirety of the project is divided into 4 stages(phases), and, if time allows, will have an additional film stage. The 4 main stages are comprised of research, design, building, and testing. All four stages will most likely overlap at one point, but I will still record each phase individually. The additional stage(filming) will be to record the building and testing phases.
2. Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.
• To meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence, I plan to divide this into 4 stages(phases): research, design, building and testing.
1. The first stage, research, will most likely take 4-8 hours. I think that this will be done in one or two mentorship days. I understand that research check is separate from independent component and I intend to do these two separately; there is, however, a possibility that some of the sources I use on research check and independent component will overlap. During this stage, I also want to spend time looking for the best materials I can use for the project.
2. The second stage, design, will probably take a considerable amount of time. During the design phase, I intend to use the information I obtained from the research phase to make a practical design for the aircraft. The main difference between the first and second stage is that in the first stage, my goal is to compile as much information as I can on simple aircraft designs, while the latter is to narrow down and combine these designs into one that I can use. In the design stage, I also intend to build small “prototypes” using cardboard to see which design works and which doesn’t. The entirety of the design phase will probably take 8-12 hours.
3. The third stage, building, will most likely be the longest. I think that during the building stage, I will spend about 15-20 hours of work. There will most likely be about 2 or more aircraft build in total. The reason being is that I am almost sure that the first design will have many flaws. It is important to know that some aspects of the design phase will most likely overlap with the building phase.
4. The last stage is the testing phase. In this stage, I will be testing the final aircraft and see how it performs. The duration of the testing phase will depend on how the final aircraft performs; however, I think that this phase will most likely take at least 3 hours. I believe that the testing phase will occur sometime during and after the building phase.
• Note: In addition to blog posts, I also intend to record the entire building and testing stages using a short video. Editing this will probably take about 3-5 hours.
• By adding up the minimum estimates of the 4 stages, I will have 30 hours. If I include the recording process (video filming, setting up, editing, etc.) I will have over 30 hours. This means that even if I fall short on one of the stages (in terms of how long it will take), I can use the additional “filming stage” to make sure I reach the minimum 30 hours.
3. Explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.
• As you might already know, my senior topic is aerospace engineering. Through the research I have done so far, I have been looking at how an aircraft works. I’ve looked into the different parts of an airplane, the forces that act upon an aircraft and how these forces are utilized to make airplanes(and other aircraft in general) more effective. It’s one thing to read about how airplanes work, but it’s also another to actually understand how they work firsthand.By building an aircraft that actually flies, I can have a better understanding of what the early pioneers of aviation had to go through. In other words, I want to have a firsthand experience of being able to make something of my own. Moreover, this project will also show me why certain designs are ineffective.
4. Update your Senior Project Hours log.
• Unfortunately, there is nothing for me to update on my senior project hours log. I haven’t done my mentorship yet (besides summer mentorship) because I was only able to get a mentor after my first interview. To add on to that, my mentor, Dr. Eric Fodran, had to leave on a business trip and is unsure whether or not he can return in time for my interview. I am currently looking for another mentor so that I can catch up on my hours. I am still interested in mentoring for Dr. Fodran, but because I don’t know when he will return, I would rather look for someone else so that I can use my time effectively.
• Senior Project Hours Link