Teresa A. Kent
TeresaAKent@gmail.com
Education
Carnegie Mellon University,
School of Computer Science, Expected August 2024
PhD Robotics
Carnegie Mellon University,
College of Engineering, May 2019
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Research Track
GPA 3.83/4.0
University of Maryland
A. James Clark School of Engineering, May 2017
B.S. Mechanical Engineering
Minor in Sustainability, Minor in Statistics, Honors Gemstone Research Citation
GPA 3.17/4.0
Research Experience
Masters Research Project
Student Researcher, Soft Materials Lab
September 2017-Present
- Characterized, modified and improved liquid crystal elastomer actuators by finding innovative ways to pattern the crystalline structure
- Encompassed joule heaters in the actuators to translate heat driven actuation to electrically driven actuation
- Recognized novel phenomenon which limited applications in liquid metal circuitry and developed methods to overcome it
- Modeled the performance of Liquid crystal elastomers under unique crystalline patterns and different joule heaters
UMD Gemstone Research: Piezoelectric Technology
Team Liaison, Team Leader
September 2013-May 2017
- Collaborated with a team of 12 group members working to develop innovative uses of piezoelectric films
- Designed experiments to determine mechanical and electrical properties of piezoelectric films
- Designed a product that incorporates piezoelectric tiles in modern touchscreens, using CAD models, and iterative prototyping
- Presented findings to panels of experts and peers
- Received a provisional patent and Gemstone Team of the Year
Bovine Aorta Research
Student Researcher
September 2016-May 2017
- Communicated through a paper solution to the question: how can a test apparatus be redesigned so that the pressure between an aorta ring and expanding tube is measured while maintaining apparatus functionality?
Work Experience
Arieca
Student Intern
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
May 2019- August 2019
- Improved material formulations of their patented product, Thubber, increasing the thermal conductivity of the material by 100%.
- Studied Start-up literature, attended startup training sessions, and interfaced with clients/potential clients in order to understand startups.
- Characterized different formulations of Thubber to determine dielectric constant, material structure and thermal conductivity.
- Found a modification to the manufacturing process which marginally increased Thubber’s performance while decreasing manufacturing costs by over 15%.
- Created 8 shipments independently for customers from formulation decision to packaging the product for shipment.
- Developed a comprehensive protocol workflow documentation system to facilitate leadership team’s development for protocols
- Managed the laboratory improving the cleaning, safety and setup as well as verifying new equipment for production
United States Consumer Product Safety Commission
Student Intern
Rockville, Maryland
June 2016- August 2016
- Developed two prototype to minimize the risks from window blind cords, a retrofit and an alteration, using Autodesk Inventor, 3-D printing and constant tension springs
- Wrote an office manual for the MakerBot 3-D replicator printer
- Disassembled and reassembled a 3-D printer in order to make repairs
- Completed introductory training to welding
- Developed test structures from Aluminum T-slotted framing
Skills
CAD: Autodesk Inventor, ANSYS, Fusion, Creo Parametric, Solid Works, Solve Space
Computer Skills: ANSYS Workbench, Arduino, HubSpot, Jira, Matlab, Processing, SAS, Trello, C++ (Open GL), Mastercam, Github
Machines: Bandsaw, CNC, CO2 Laser cutter, Form 2, Instron, Makerbot, Milling Machine, Multi-meter, Photo laser, Soldering Iron, Thinky Mixer, Turning Machine
Materials: Acrylic, Ecoflex, Dragon Skin, Liquid Crystal Elastomers, Liquid Metal (Egain & Galenstien), PDMS, Piezoelectric
Publications
Team Piezo, & Yang, B., Dr. (2017). PIEZOELECTRIC SENSING AND ENERGY HARVESTING IN TOUCHSCREENS. Digital Repository of the University of Maryland. doi:10.13016/M25T3G04B
Conferences
“Piezoelectric Sensing and Energy Harvesting in Touchscreens” 18th Annual Gemstone Honors Program Thesis Conference, College Park, MD, 21 April 2017. Conference Presentation.
“PIEZO” 17th Annual Gemstone Honors Program Thesis Conference, College Park, MD, 21 April 2017. Poster Presentation.
Relevant Courses
Additive Manufacturing, Assistive Robotics, Bio-Inspired Robotics, DIY Design & Fabrication, Energy Climate Change and Options for a Low-Carbon Economy, Engineering Computation, Environmental Law, Fundamentals of CNC Machining, Global Leadership in Engineering, Human Robot Interaction, Linear Control Systems, Machine Shop Practice, Mechatronics, Soft Robotics, Special Topics in Mechanical Engineering; Energy Conversion Systems for Sustainability
Project Experience/Highlights
Bio Inspired Robotics Project: Swimming Muscle Link
January 2019-May 2019
- Modified an existing soft robot to include on board electronics and to work on land and in water with 4 other group members
- Designed and tested how different support structures, geometries and mediums affected a ring of SMA actuators overall performance.
Linear Control Systems Project
November 2018-December 2018
- Linearized a bicycle model of buggy model in the lateral and longitudinal direction in order to control the velocity and keep the buggy along a prescribed trajectory
- Applied a PID controller to the velocity control and LQR controller to the trajectory monitoring
- Coded in python to develop the controllers
Mechatronics Project
January 2018-May 2018
- Designed a robot capable of autonomous window cleaning on a large building, crossing barriers standard to a window, and leaving a window dry and streak free within two minutes of cleaning
- Oversaw the development of the adhesion sub system in collaboration in with five other subsystems
- Optimized the tilt angle of the fan adhesion system to maximize the sum of the lift and frictional force using matlab
- Managed the project timeline and coordinated subsystem work in order to facilitate the project completion on time and on budget
- Placed first in the final mechatronics class competition of window washer robots.
- Collaborated with 4 other team members
Human Robot Interaction Project: Pilot Study into Over trust in Robotics
October 2018-December 2018
- Designed a simulation in VREP and a corresponding pilot study to measure how purposeful robot failures affects supervisory control decisions and overall trust of the supervisor
- Presented analysis of the results of the study, literature review, and recommended future work in a presentation and conference style paper
Soft Robotics Assignments
January 2018-May 2018
- Analyzed pneumatic, DEA, and stretchable electronic designs using ANSYS modeling
- Analyzed pneumatic, dialectical actuators, and stretchable electronics using analytical models
Engineering Computation: Mass, Spring Damper System
October 2017-December 2017
- Planned an object oriented code with four group members in order to make an interactive visual representation of mass, spring, damper systems that for high school students
- Constructed code in C++ which was compiled into the final mass, spring, damper interactive code
- Designed the animation classes of the code
Engineering Computation: Individual Bonus Project
October 2017
- Developed a code in C++ to take inputs from a swimmer, such as in how much time the user had and what they hoped to work on and output a swim set that does not exceed the time the swimmer had left.
DIY Design & Fabrication: Mini Projects
September 2017-December 2017
Communicated design ideas through ideation sketching and detailed design sketches- Developed computer models of designs using Solidworks and Fusion
- Built a lighting casing using only matt board and a laser cutter
- Prototyped a reusable coffee sleeve using paper and heat molded laser cut acrylic
- Designed and 3-D printed key chain. Created a mold of the design and producedfour more copies of the design using the mold
- Conceptualized a design for a customized notebook made with white boards for pages
- Fabricated an initial prototype for the white board notebook
- Shaped clay to convey a design idea
Bio-Inspired Robot: Iguana Bot
February 2017-May 2017
Built a robot using an Arduino, batteries, motors and 3-D printed parts to
meet the design goal of traveling 30times the body
length in under two minutes on multiple terrains- Developed an Arduino code which matched a designed gait inspired by a biological source
- Calculated the feet position relative to the body at different phases of the gait using forward and inverse kinematics
- Finished first on the carpet terrain
Capstone Project: Indoor Composter
September 2016-December 2016
Pitched the idea of and collaborated with 4 group members in the development of a solution to the problem of composting in populations without access to traditional compost bins- Developed multiple design solutions for an indoor composter and evaluated their feasibility using a House of Quality, Pugh charts, and Analytical Hierarchal Process Chart
- Built a prototype indoor composter in order to evaluate the final design’s ability to meet the design requirements
- Evaluated the prototype’s performance in relation to the customer’s requirements and the competition’s products
- Presented the prototype and experimental results to a panel of experts
- Communicated design decisions, results of testing, and design criteria in a final report to the panel of experts
Micro-fluidic Diode Project
September 2016-December 2016
- Collaborated with 3 other group members to design microfluidic diodes to be printed using multi-jet modeling in order to demonstrate 3-D printing advantages over nano-fabrication
- Analyzed microfluidic diode using water flow in order to determine a maximum diodicity of 429 at flow rates greater than 700 ml/min
- Communicated the results in a lab on a chip style journal paper and a presentation to peers and professors
Impacting Driver Re-design Project
February 2016-May 2016
- Designed an improvement for the electronic subsystem of a DeWalt impacting driver in order to improve screw placement
- Tested the design improvement and presented the design improvement to a panel of judges
- Researched and analyzed the manufacturing process of the impacting driver in comparison to the added cost and change in manufacturing process of the improvement in design
- Collaborated with four other group members to dissect a DeWalt Impacting driver and test its thermal, power and mechanical performance in comparison with the theoretical models
Environmental Law Memo
February 2016-May 2016
- Produced a legal memo on the National Ambient Air Quality Standards legality in reference to an upcoming court case
- Researched ozone standards legality using law journals, previous court rulings and law statutes
- Participated in a team that debated other classmates on the legality of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards
Activities
CMU Club Swim Team
Vice President, Cofounder
August 2017-Present
- Co-founded a swim team which went from 5 competing members to 20 competing members over my officer ship
- Cultivated a positive atmosphere, wrote practices, organized 3 competitions a semester, and defended funding for a practicing team of over 40 swimmers
Project Sustainable Tailgating
Project Author, Project Implementor
October 2014-December 2016
- Identified tailgating waste as a critical issue to University of Maryland Sustainability and worked to reduce the waste in tailgating parking lots
- Wrote a proposal and worked with 3 UMD departments to improve the proposal and secure funding for the project
- Oversaw the project’s implementation analyzing the project’s success along the way in order to make improvements
- Doubled volunteer staff during the tailgates for the 2015 season to provide support to twice as many tailgating lots
Affiliations
Carnegie Mellon Lacrosse Fall 2018-Present
UMD Club Swim Team Fall 2013-May 2017
Basketball Official Seasonal January 2014-January 2018
Teresa A Kent 