REU at Virginia Tech
During the summer between my sophomore and junior years, I spent a memorable summer at Virginia Tech, working with Dr. Saied Taheri as part of the Center for Tire Research. During my ten weeks with the program, my research focused on designing a testing platform for semi-active suspensions. Given my passion for cars and land vehicles, it was everything I had hoped for and more. At night, I would read material on topics like vehicle dynamics and tire mechanics. I came to better understand where my passions lie, as well as gained experience managing an open ended project, setting my own goals and expectations. While there wasn’t enough time to build the rig, my partner, Jordan Ikeda, and I thoroughly reviewed the designs and gathered all the materials. In the Fall of 2013, the project continued as Jordan’s senior design project, backed by General Motors. In addition, our research was selected by the Council for Undergraduate Research to be presented at their annual conference.
