Blogs
These are my blog entries throughout the year.
Final Blog
The schol year is over and I wanted to finish it off with a few things. The thing I'm probably most proud of in my PLTW career is the amount I have learned about Fusion 360. I have always really enjoyed 3-D modeling, but didn't have many oppurtunities to actually apply it after the freshman year Fusion 360 course, however, this year I was able to apply 3-D modeling to almost all of my projects and I was able to greatly expand my knowledge on the program and have been able to do things that I was never able to do before. For incoming PLTW seniors, I would say that finding a project you are actually interested in will be key to not only having success in this class, but also having fun. For freshen jsut starting out in the PLTW program, I would say figure out what you're good at and what you enjoy doing so that you get to put it in full practice by the time you reach the year that you would be doing your capstone project.
As for my plans next year, I'll be attending Drexel University in the city of Philladelphia. I applied undecided but I plan on switching into either structural engineering or mechanical engineering. I'll be a coxswain for their D1 rowing team as well which means I'll get to travel to all sorts of really cool places to compete in races. I'm excited to really kick start my career in a STEM field and look forward to being able to apply my skills from the SAMO PLTW program at Drexel.
If I could tell my younger self anyhting while entering high school, it would be to not push myself to hard. I always enjoyed a challenge and I also felt like I needed to be at the highest level possible, even if its not exacatly where I belonged, and It led to me making some major mistakes during the middle portion of my high school career. Just make sure that you remain realistic with what you have time and energy to accomplish.
1
Over summer break I spent a lot of time with my extended family. I got to go to Oregon and spend a lot of time with my cousins and grandparents. My cousin also came down to visit so we got to do a lot in LA with her. I'm most excited about being able to start the capstone project in the second semester of this class. I can't wait to be able to solve an issue that I take interest in. In general I am most excited about being able to participate in senior activities this year. I think that the activities will make senior year more interesting than my previous years of highschool and I can't wait to be able to partake in them
2
Recently me and my group have been working on our JPL project. Our design incorporates a chain of what we call "teeter totters" that is activated by a spring and gravity. We had a finalized design but there was a rule change that effected out desing heavily. We are currently trying to brainstorm ways to edit our desing in ways that meet the new criteria and also might have a chance of winning first place. Most of my work has been in the development of the actual concept of the project through things like design sketches and CAD modeling.
3
Some of my favorite entries from the SEAOSC competition was the Van De Kamp's Bakery and the Super Es World. I liked them both because I thought the attention to decoration was truly impressive. I thought the bakery was expeically impressive since the they used many fragile parts and intriquite pieces to create the windmill portion at the top of the bakery. If I had the oppurtunity to create a gingerbread strucutre like this, I would choose to make the Eiffel Tower. I would choose this structure because I fid it to be one of the most beautiful structures to ever exist. I would probably use some sort of stiff material like pretzel sticks to help create the gingerbread Eiffel Tower because I would want it to be structurally sound and I think it would fit the aesthetic of the structure.
4
Our class took a field trip to Aerospace Corporation in January. The trip was very valuable because we got to meet a lot of people in very different types of proffesions there. I learned a lot about how lab research is carried out and I also got to witness some of their technology that was still in development.
A group is trying to solve the issue of space-debris for our capstone project. A solution known as the Lithium-Ion Battery Disorbiter is already in development at the Aerospace Corporation. It is a device that ignites the battery within a satelite to produce thrust. This thrust would help the satelite deorbit and reduce the amount of debris in LEO.
I am Igor Sikorsky and I set a national record for flying motionless over Stratford, Connecticut Ariport for just over an hour in 1941. I designed and flew the aircraft over the ground for over an hour and set a national record for helicopters. My designs for the helipcopter had made a lot of progress since 1909, but I was still pioneering the field since I was the one to invent the first motorized helicopter. Because of this, my design was pretty primitive but I was still able to completemy goals.