Building Energy and Environments, Graduate Research Assistant

PI: Dr. Zoltan Nagy and Kerry Kinney, Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering | UT Austin

Aug 2018 - Present

  • Creating and testing a low-cost environmental module of sensors built using Raspberry Pi microcomputers that is capable of characterizing the indoor air quality and thermal conditions in homes
  • Deploying wearable fitness trackers alongside environmental modules in participants’ bedrooms to see if key indoor air pollutants have an appreciable effect on an occupant’s sleep quality
  • Creating an indoor and outdoor air quality sensor network on UT’s campus to measure temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide, total volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter.
  • Adapting novel and machine learning methods to data gathered from consumer-grade devices to deal with issues of reliability and accuracy and uncover relationships across modalities.

Whole Communities, Whole Health, Graduate Research Assistant

University of Texas at Austin Bridging Barriers Program | UT Austin

Nov 2018 – Present

  • Multi-disciplinary group of researchers whose goal is to make sure that advances in behavioral and health sciences reach under-represented groups in the Texas community
  • Gathering initial data from UT student community using consumer-grade environmental sensors created in-house using Raspberry Pi microcomputers, wearable fitness trackers, phone sensors, and electronic surveys
  • Analyzing data from over 1600 participants in Python-based Jupyter Notebooks to determine how thermal conditions and indoor air quality might affect aspects of sleep quality and mood
  • Deploying more robust sensor technologies to low-income communities in the Austin area to ascertain what effects their environments produce on their health and mental well-being

Building Energy and Environments, Graduate Research Assistant

PI: Dr. Zoltan Nagy and June Young Park, Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering | UT Austin

Aug 2017 – Aug 2018

  • Helped program Raspberry Pi computers to gather occupancy data via Bluetooth and light levels in university offices
  • Developed algorithm in Python for a smart lighting control system for single office spaces using a reinforcement learning
  • Deployed hardware with smart lighting control system to UT offices offices over a period of 3 weeks to validate machine learning model

Indoor Air Quality, Graduate Research Assistant

PI: Dr. Richard Corsi and Dr. Atila Novoselac, Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering | UT Austin

Aug 2016 – May 2018

  • Healthy High School PRIDE (Partnership in Research on InDoor Environments): A field campaign funded by the US EPA to sample and analyze indoor air quality of central Texas high schools. Determined ozone decay rates to occupants and classroom surfaces using carbon dioxide and ozone data gathered during the field campaign and additional experiments performed in unoccupied classrooms during the summer.
  • Effects of Scented Personal Care Products on Ozone Reactivity with Human Building Occupants: Determined ozone decay rates to humans without and with a scented body spray applied by ozonating human subjects in a controlled environmental chamber.

Ocean Engineering Group, Undergraduate Research Assistant

PI: Dr. Spyros Kinnas and Allen Du, Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering | UT Austin

Dec 2015 – Aug 2016

  • Selected to assist graduate research students with optimizing the design of ducted propellers and turbines.
  • Simulated the design of the propellers and turbines in ANSYS Fluent and analyzed the results using a linked program developed in Fortran.

Transportation Engineering Department, Undergraduate Research Assistant

PI: Dr. Stephen Boyles and Michael Levin, Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering | UT Austin

Dec 2014 – July 2016

  • Selected to assist graduate research students in the areas of intersection management of autonomous vehicles and presented findings at a poster competition on campus
  • Assisted the Autonomous Vehicle group by compiling the group’s research and findings into technical reports provided to the Texas Department of Transportation

Technologies for Renewable Energy Generation and Management NSF REU, Undergraduate Research Assistant

PI: Dr. Joel Burken, Civil and Environmental Engineering | Missouri S&T

June 2015 – Aug 2015

  • Selected to design and implement experiments to test the water retention and release properties of a typical green roof soil mixed with various additives
  • Attended workshops to embellish presentation and scientific writing skills and presented findings in a poster competition on campus.