Research

Publication

Student Journal / Competition

Sun, X., Deng, B., Zhang, J., Kelly, M., Alam, R., & Makiharju, S. (2021). Reimagining Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Charging Stations with Wave Energy. Berkeley Scientific Journal, 25(2). https://doi.org/10.5070/BS325254504

CAL (Computed Axial Lithography), 2020 Spring - Present

Professor Hayden Taylor's Design for Nanomanufacturing Lab
Mentored by PhD students Joseph Toombs, Nicole Luk, Alvin Lee, and Taylro Waddell

Regularly reviewing literature, proposing research ideas, and helping with grant writing
Attending group meetings, workshops and conferences in relevant fields
Making organic / bio photo-resin with various monomer and photoinitiators for conducting different experiments, including discovering novel materials
Conducting various bio-related projects for exploring the advantages of volumetric light patterning
Designing and executing experiments to print, post- process, and evaluate optical components with Computed Axial Lithography (CAL) printer
Building a theoretical model to optimize post-processing
Leading a team to build an open-sourced CAL printer
Improving optical performance of the CAL system by further developing projection generation code
Evaluating mechanical properties of novel hydrogels and fabricate tools for tissue engineering and contact lenses printing
Leading a collaboration with O’Connell Lab on creating cartilage tissue with CAL printer using a mixture of agarose, alginate, and PEGDA gels
Assisted to upgrade the CAL printer for multi-wavelength printing and applying it to bioprinting in collaboration with a Stanford team
Built a theoretical simulation for volumetric 3D printing with metal powder in ultrasonic field

Tissue Engineering / Cartilage Bioprinting, 2021 Spring - Present

Professor Grace O'Connell's O'Connell Lab
Mentored by PhD student Gabriel Lopez

Constantly reviewing literature and propose new research ideas
Preparing bovine meniscus samples
Making agarose, alginate, PEGDA, GelMA, and collagen gels with different formulas and conducting biocompatibility (using chondrocytes) compressional & stress relaxing test with casted samples
Printing and evaluating hydrogels with a bio fused deposition printer (Allevi 2)
Conducting print fidelity tests and improve the print fidelity by alternating print parameters: successfully printed soft 3D structures with overhang parts
Meeting with graduate student mentor weekly and presenting final research result to the group every semester

Structure Engineering -- 2021 Summer Berkeley SURF-SMART Fellowship

Mentored by PhD Student Yasaman Yavaribajestani

Link to the project description

Biped Robot Control

Mentored by Professor Zhenyu Gan in Syracuse University, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Department

Investigating into an alternation of the SLIP (Spring Loaded Inverted Pendulum) model

COVID19 -- Bear Air (Air Purification), 2020 Spring - Present

UC Berkeley’s Covid-19 Design and Manufacturing Group

Co-leading a team in a COVID air purification project that gained 130K initial fund from the CITRIS Institution: Literature reviewing, planning and executing experiments, data analysis and product designing, paper and grant writing, communication with research partners
White Book of the project
Gained 130K initial grant from CITRIS Institute

COVID19 -- BVF (Bacterial Viral Filter)

UC Berkeley’s Covid-19 Design and Manufacturing Group

White Book of the project
Co-leading a team in a COVID air purification project that gained 130K initial fund from the CITRIS Institution: Literature reviewing, planning and executing experiments, data analysis and product designing, paper and grant writing, communication with research partners

COVID19 -- VentilatorSOS, 2020 Spring

VentilatorSOS is a project dedicated to help with the current pandemic. The project was initiated in March, 2020 by Professor Grace O'Connell in the Mechanical Engineering Department and Cal Alumni Bryan Martel. I was the first student joining the team and later became one of the leads in the project. I dedicated long hours of working during the first month of the outbreak in the hope that the project can quickly employed and help save lives in the horrible pandemic. Our team was one of the first teams in the world to figure out how to convert CPAP/BiPAP machines into ventilators that can be used to treat COVID patients. I helped build CAD model for engineering the product and raising business founding. I also led the testing group to collect data at our lab. The project Website can be found here: https://ventilatorsos.org/.

Repurposed CPAP and BiPAP machines as ventilators for supplementary medical devices
Created CAD model for 3D printing and press release
Built and Tested prototype with off-shelf-products and 3D printing parts
Created the fist website and started a gofundme campaign for efforts to help Haiti combat coronavirus
Gathered and analyzed data including flow rate, pressure drop, and oxygen concentration
The VentilatorSOS team distributed thousands of machines across the world

Media Coverage:
ABC7 News , KNTV/NBC News, KRON4 News, Wired, San Francisco Chronicle, TechCrunch, SF Business Times, SFGate, Forbes, FierceHealthcare, FierceElectronics, Yahoo Finance!, PBS NewsHour , LA Times, KTVU News, KRXQ Radio, KCBS Radio, The Union, PharmaIntelligence, and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Cal Light the Way

Ocean Engineering, 2019 Fall - 2021 Spring

Professor Reza Alam's Theoretical & Applied Fluid Dynamics Lab
Mentored by ShuangJiy Fu

Operate apparatus around a large scale wave tank in O 'Brien Hall at UC Berkeley campus.
Assisted calibrate wave gauges and force cells

UC Berkeley Marine Energy Collegiate Team, 2019-2020

One of the Universities selected to participate the first year Marine Energy Collegiate Competition (MECC) competition held by Department of Energy
Initiated by Michael Kelly in the TAF Lab
The team strives to develop an underwater docking station that can store energy generated by currents, tides, and waves to recharge underwater unmanned vehicles (UUVs), automated underwater vehicles (AUVs), and even manned underwater vehicles. The docking station could also serve as an intermediate data repository so that underwater vehicles can spend longer time underwater, thus reducing costs. The team will also propose business models to demonstrate the value of underwater docking stations.
You can check our work here
Our paper has been accepted and will be published by the Berkeley Scientific Journal

UC Berkeley Marine Energy Collegiate Team, 2020-2021