PERSONAL PROJECTS
DICE
Quasisymmetry allows viruses to assemble full capsids using copies of just one or a few subunits. Coincidentally, symmetry allows dice to be weighted equally on each side, so it begs the question: can viruses be rolled like dice?
To test my theory, I resin-printed a few models off of the NIH 3D database. While some viruses, like the flaviviruses, refuse to act like dice, I found that adenovirus and phi-x-174 roll exactly like 20-sided dice, and parvovirus like 12-sided dice!
Now, how does one number a virus from 1-12 or 1-20? Well, I’m currently playing around with CAD and some paint to strike a balance between creating an intuitive numbering system and preserving the intricacies of the capsid surface.
I’ve got 12- and 20-sided dice covered with viruses, but what about the classic 6-sided die?
Crystal lattices are models used in material science to describe how atoms are arranged in space. There are seven crystal lattices, three of them cubes. So, I took the two most interesting cubic lattices, face-centered cubic (FCC, ex. copper) and body-centered cubic (BCC, ex. β titanium), and CADed them using Fusion360. I then added pips to turn them into dice, and I printed them in PLA.
The unique structures give the dice an ethereal and multi-dimensional quality that makes them feel like they came straight out of a sci-fi movie. I plan on printing them in resin for a smoother finish, as I had trouble removing the support structures in PLA.
BUILDING RACE CARS
When one of my high school teachers proposed the start of a solar-powered racing team in 2019, I jumped on board and became the founding captain of the Kent School Holy Solars.
Because we were a new team, we lacked the history and experience of the teams we were competing against. I spent hundreds of hours, many of them alone during the pandemic, learning how to aluminum TIG weld to create a competitively lightweight frame.
We won first place in our first two races, and I now get to say that I’ve raced 1000+ miles on a NASCAR track in a car that I built.
In college, I joined the Longhorn Racing Solar Vehicles Team as their only aluminum welder. I stepped away from the organization in 2023 to prioritize research, but I still volunteer my weekends and evenings to weld for them and to teach new members how to weld.
COSTUMES AND JEWELRY
When I learned that engineering students had access to the Texas Inventionworks (TIW) workshop here at UT, I immediately decided to get trained on all of the machines. I’d been introduced to ring-making videos on YouTube, so it seemed natural that I would try making a few rings on the TIW lathes.
The process first involves either purchasing or fabricating a ring blank. In the upper image, I purchased ring blanks for the first, third, and fourth rings, each being made of carbon fiber, hammered tungsten, and titanium, respectively. I fabricated the second blank out of aluminum on the lathe. The infill on each ring is made of mica powder, as well as several unique materials such as copper shavings, opal, obsidian, and meteorite shards. These materials are smoothed down and polished using a lathe.
The lower image was an experiment with the laser cutters at TIW. I wanted to create a ring for the friend that introduced me to ring-making, so I laser-cut three parts out of clear acrylic, fitted them together, and added a green mica and aventurine infill that reminded me of my friend’s love of camoflauge.
In 2023, I decided to go to my first Renaissance Festival. I wanted to make and wear my own costume, so I taught myself how to sew. I made a Pinterest board, designed in ProCreate, spent several months trying to find a fabric of my liking, stole my mom’s old sewing machine, and got to work.
The theme of the festival was fae, but I wanted to go beyond typical Lord-Of-The-Rings-esque fae imaginings, so I looked to my heritage and constructed a Japanese-inspired plum blossom costume.
ART
One of the reasons I love biomedical engineering is because I think that it’s the perfect marriage of science and art. I’m not a professional artist by any means, but I’ve enjoyed drawing, painting, and design for as long as I can remember.
I often draw while playing Dungeons and Dragons, inspired by silly scenes that happen in a session. In addition, the design and background art of this website is mine, though some (like the influenza virus and antibody) of it was traced in ProCreate.
