Why did I chose Bioastronautics at CU Boulder?
Siddhi Bhilare MS: Aerospace Engineering
Two weeks before my 6th birthday, India was stunned when space shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry, killing Kalpana Chawla and 6 of her colleagues. Appalled due to the fact that a piece of foam could damage an RCC tile, I realized how overlooking a simple design flaw could lead to disasters and if humans actually left a big room for improvement in the persisting machines; especially the ones which put human lives on the line. Thereafter, I wanted to seek and eliminate these overlooked flaws, curb malfunctions and ameliorate working standards for skilled people, as this would be a very scientific way of measuring my impact on the society.
After reading Don Norman's book "The design of everyday things", my penchant for considering all possible aspects about human interaction with machines swelled and to nurture my curiosity, I assiduously pursued mechanical engineering. The thought that, if the spaceshuttles, airplanes, rockets and spacesuits are easier to use and control, human beings can leverage their speed of gaining answers to the big questions of science while working in all types of climates on and beyond earth with reduced life risk, fascinated me. An MS program in Aerospace engineering will provide me means to foster this fascination. I later want to explore man-vehicle interface through advance research and pursue a PhD in spacesuit design.
Looking at academics to gain knowledge from an aerospace perspective, I studied mechatronics to know how the sensors in ISS recorded the velocity of space debris, mechanics taught me how the voyager space probes travelled such humongous distances and refrigeration taught me how NASA's Parker Solar Probe keept itself cool. However, there were still some questions that nagged me, hence I completed introductory courses by MIT and TU Delft on EdX. In ‘Introduction to aerospace engineering: Astronautics and human spaceflight’ by Professor Hoffman, I learnt the interdependence of mathematics and science while scoring 92% in the course and either an A+ or an A grade in all my mathematics courses. Although I faced a minor setback during my fifth semester, my improved time-management skills led me to take on projects related to man-machine interfaces and secure first class with distinction in every year so far.
In my senior year undergrad, I got the opportunity work on solving a problem faced by Richard Browning, the CEO of Gravity Industries in Barnet, UK. He used jet engines mounted on a gauntlet to lift himself above the ground and fly which demanded tremendous strength in one's shoulder joints. Hence, for commercialization, an exoskeleton that could provide a comfortable flight was needed. I contacted him over email and met him when he was in Mumbai for a Ted talk. I have been working on the project since 6 months now, making necessary flight calculations for different sets of jet engines using python for weight of the pilot as an input and the maximum flight time and velocity and acceleration after each minute of fuel consumption as the output in terms of graphs and heat maps which would easily tell me which combination of the jets gave the best results and the maximum achievable acceleration. By used gait data results I came up with a design that ensured maximum maneuverability and restricted unwanted motions of the human limbs which would otherwise cause a fracture in such high speed applications. I also selected the material for the exoskeleton and 3D printed a scaled-down model of the design to prove the proof of concept. The design analysis was done on ANSYS where I also performed parametric and topological optimizations. Since the deadline is 3 months away, I am additionally manufacturing an actual aluminum exoskeleton as per my body dimensions to carry out some final experiments before I deliver it to Richard.
For a mini project, I designed and manufactured a combat robot with a pneumatically operated hammer as the attack and a motor operated roller as the defense mechanism. Since it was my first year in engineering, I practically had no exposure to robotics. Learning everything from scratch and then applying the knowledge to the project, was an enriching experience. I completed the design and manufacturing of the robot in 20 days by working 8 hours a day while using lathe and milling machines along with TIG welding for manufacturing the chassis. I also calculated the required battery wattage, solenoid valve details for the pneumatics and the remote control circuit to steer the robot. I was the only person in a class of 63, who could build a functional robot.
As my seminar topic I studied cryogenic rocket engines used in the Soviet Union’s RD-0120 and India’s GSLV-MKIII, with respect to development and testing techniques of the rocket components, materials used, payload ratio and specific impulse, design of the nozzles, thrust chambers and turbopumps, joining processes used, structural analysis methods and results and the modeling techniques for these subsystems.
While working on these projects, however, I realized a need for expert guidance in human-machine interfaces. The search for facilities for testing and manufacturing such project models led me to the unique BioServe Space Technologies Center at University of Colorado, Boulder and the LifeLAB Projects team working in ECLSS under the specialization of bioastronautics. Also, Professor Allie Anderson's work on studying pressure variations in the spacesuit by using wearable sensors resolved many unanswered questions of mine about human comfort in the spacesuit. The opportunity to utilize the facilities like the RALPHEE and AETHER exited me enough to promptly apply for this graduate course.
Getting a masters degree in aerospace engineering will intensify my impact on the society by helping me contribute towards the comfort of the most uniquely skilled people on earth i.e. the astronauts. Moreover, my research might also help the common man; just like Professor Anderson's research helps patients who suffer from traumatic brain injury; thereby paving my way towards my dream career.