I received a Master's and Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, in San Luis Obispo. During my time there I was a part of designing several projects. Here are a few.
-Mike
For my Master's Thesis, I tested a local inventor's new technology for football helmets that may have been able to decrease the risk of concussions for football players. In the course of my testing, I designed and built the drop tower shown to the right. Unfortunately, the results of my testing showed the new technology was not able to reduce concussion risk.
The text of my thesis can be viewed here:
https://cpslo-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/39e239/01CALS_ALMA991000055079702920
My Senior Project, which I completed during my senior year while earning my Bachelor's degree, was to design a new type of tire testing machine. My team and I were tasked with developing a system which could replicate all the forces a tire undergoes while driving on the road. A typical tire testing machine consists of a tire which is rotated against a large wheel which simulates the road, this however does not simulate any of the effects a tire undergoes while turning. To add this lateral force component, we took the traditional tire machine and put it on a centrifuge.
Unfortunately, the sponsor of the project lost their funding and we were not able to fabricate the full machine. We were able to test the basic function on a scaled back design.
