Blog 24 – Last Presentation Reflection

~I think this is the only picture that doesn't need a caption.

1. Positive Statement
1. What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why?
1. In my final presentation, I was most proud of how I did during my lecture. I’m not exactly sure how the audience felt, but I really liked how it went. To me, it seemed like the audience, as well as Ms. Edwards, was engaged. Overall, I would say I am most proud of all of the research I have done throughout the year. I really liked and enjoyed learning about something I am really passionate about.
2. Questions to Consider
1. What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation?  Use the component contract to defend that assessment.
1. I would give my presentation an assessment of an AE. I believe that I met all of the requirements for P consideration, and was able to do my presentation that was above and beyond. I believe that my presentation was very engaging and clear.
2. What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project? Use the component contract to defend that assessment.
1. Overall, I would give myself an assessment of an AE for the senior project. I believe this to be true because I was able to do everything I needed to in a timely and proficient manner, and I was able to go above and beyond in other aspects. For projects such as the I-Search paper, 2nd Presentation, and the Final Presentation, I believe I deserve an AE (in fact, I did get an AE for the 2nd presentation). All-in-all,I believe that I at least deserve a P, but was able to go above and beyond for some of the major components.
3. What worked for you in your senior project?
1. For my senior project, research and mentorship really worked well. In the beginning of the year, I did not have a mentor for a while, but when I did get one, everything really worked well.
4. (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project?
1. I would probably be more organized and do my projects a little earlier to avoid stress. I didn’t really procrastinate but for some things such as lesson preparations, I waited more than I should have.
5. Finding Value
1. How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors? Be specific and use examples.
1. The senior project really helped me develop as a person. For example, I learned how to talk to other experts and professionals that I probably wouldn’t have talked to unless senior project needed me to.

Blog 18 – Answer 2

~There are many advantages that come with additive manufacturing, including: more complex designs, variety, few constraints, less waste, less fabrication time, etc.

1. What is your EQ?
1. “How can aircraft manufacturers utilize today’s technology in order to be cost efficient?”
2. What is your first answer? (In complete thesis statement format)
1. Aircraft manufacturers can maximize cost efficiency with today’s technology through the use of efficient designs that utilize certain geometric shapes, like Laminates, T-stiffened, and Honeycomb structures.
3. What is your second answer? (In complete thesis statement format)
1. Aircraft manufacturers can maximize cost efficiency with today’s technology through the use of additive manufacturing techniques.
4. List three reasons your answer is true with a real-world application for each.
1. My answers are already based on real world applications. For example:
1. The geometric factors that contribute to efficiency are not only found in Aerospace applications, but also in the automotive, construction, and other manufacturing industries. All three designs of my first answer are widely used in aircraft, spacecraft, automobiles, etc.
2. The correlation between the geometrical shapes and aircraft cost efficiency is confirmed by real-world scientific and empirical testing.
1. Use of these geometrical factors can significantly lower the overall cost/weight of aircraft, while still retaining its overall strength/stiffness.
2. My independent component actually tests the strength and stiffness values of each shape.
3. All three geometric shapes use composite materials, which already improve the cost/performance ratio of aircraft components.
1. Composite materials are found everywhere
1. i.e. aircraft/military, appliance/electrical components, automotive/transportation, civil infrastructure, construction, consumer products, and marine equipment.
2. My second answer, additive manufacturing, is true because:
1. It is a great improvement over other forms of manufacturing/shaping(i.e.subtractive and formative)
1. i.e. 3D printing
2. Allows for more efficient internal geometrical shapes in aircraft components.
1. Subtractive and formative shaping techniques are very limited in the type of designs they can implement since most internal components are impossible to reach.
2. i.e. Airbus innovation ideas--utilize complex geometrical shapes for inner parts of components (panels, skins, etc.). These are designs that are impossible to implement with subtractive and formative manufacturing.
3. Additive manufacturing techniques are constantly being improved in time. With each year, more and more aircraft manufacturers are using additive manufacturing techniques to create complex aircraft components.
1. i.e. Airbus, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman are all trying to find an effective method to create an aircraft entirely through additive manufacturing techniques.
5. What printed source best supports your answer?
1. Ruplu Bhattacharya and Mohan Wamsi. "Primer: 3D printing, Early days for a disruptive space." Bank of America Meryll Lynch, 2013. PDF File.
6. What other source supports your answer?
1. “Composite Materials Handbook Volume 3. Polymer Matrix Composites Materials Usage, Design, and Analysis 2.4.1.1 Carbon and Graphite Fibers.” United States Department of Defense, 17 June 2002. PDF File.
2. Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. "Aviation Maintenance Technician Handbook - Airframe, Volume 2 Chapter 1: Aircraft Structures." DOT, FAA, 2012. PDF File.
3. Gjøvik, Raufoss. "Additive Manufacturing Technology Industrial demonstrators and Living labs." SFI Norman, 2008. PDF File.
4. J.F.M. Wiggenraad, P. Arendsen and J.M. da Silva Pereira. "Design optimization of stiffened composite panels with buckling and damage tolerance constraints." National Aerospace Laboratory NLR, 1998. PDF File.
7. Tie this together with a  concluding thought.
1. While my first and second answers may overlap in some aspects, I decided to use them separately because of the amount of information about each of them. There are so many factors to take into consideration when talking about efficient designs and geometrical factors. Moreover, many of the geometrical shapes I have talked about in my first answer can actually be fabricated without additive manufacturing techniques. Additive manufacturing is also a very big answer as they hold so many strengths over other manufacturing/shaping techniques.

Blog 15 – Lesson 2 Reflection

~I was proud of the amount of props I had for my presentation. The honeycomb structure was one of them. It is used in order to stiffen/strengthen laminates/panels from things such as aircraft wings to car components.

1. What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?
1. I was most proud of my hook activity (ice sheet vs. ice sheet composite). It was a nice seeing everyone’s reaction to my activity. Moreover, my activity was well thought of and required a lot of preparation/planning. I am proud that it was both fun/engaging and relevant to my EQ answer.
2. -
1. What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?
1. I would give myself a P+/AE
2. Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.
1. I believe I deserve this grade because I was able to meet all of the requirements and did not have any problems with any of them. I wouldn’t give myself a full AE because I was very close to going over time and had to cut the activity debrief short.
3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?
1. My activity and my hook worked well for my Lesson 2.
4. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?
1. Timing was definitely very awkward for me. If I could have done differently to improve my Lesson 2 I would have tried to remove some unnecessary points in order to help my timing.
5. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?
1. For my answer 2, I think I am going to try to expand upon composite materials and structures. I want to go to a completely different direction with my 3rd answer, but for now, I would like to expand upon composites.

Blog 11 – Lesson 1 Reflection

~Aerodynamics is one of the things I talked about in my senior lesson. It is one of the four design processes in Aeronautics.

1. What are you most proud of in your lesson, and why?
1. I think that there are a lot of good things that went well with the lesson. First, I was able to manage my time properly and plan out/practice my presentation multiple times before the actual lesson. Next, I believe that I was successful in keeping the whole class engaged in my lesson. Although I was not able to use good props, I was still able to use what I had effectively to enhance the overall quality of my presentation. Last and most important, the information I talked about in my lesson was both interesting and significant. I was actually very happy that I was able to talk about my topic the way I did today, because it gave the class a sort of short preview of my senior topic.
2. What assessment would you give yourself on your lesson? Explain why you earned that grade using evidence from the component contract.
1. On my lesson, I believe that I deserve a P(8.5/10) because I was able to meet all of the requirements and did well in them. I do not believe that I deserve anything higher because it was still far from a perfect presentation. Unfortunately, I was unable to find good props to use for my presentation. Moreover, I also forgot to bring some of the props that I was planning on using. Fortunately, I was still able to make-do with the simple props I had.
3. If you could go back, what would you change about your lesson?  How can you use that knowledge to give a better Lesson 2?
1. If I would go back, I would definitely try to use better props throughout my presentation to help keep the audience more interested. Moreover, I think I would have tried to think of ways to go above and beyond in my lesson. The reason I did not really try to think of these is because I was unsure of how the first lesson would go. I actually wanted to use the first lesson to test myself and see how I can go about with my senior topic. For the lesson 2, I think I just need to be more organized and be more creative.