Fluid Dynamics Undergraduate Research

As an undergraduate student, I had the wonderful opportunity to lead my own research project as a member of the Fluid Dynamics of Injury, Disease, and Cognitive Mapping Lab. I was responsible for the setup and design of a flow loop for the purpose of analyzing the shear stress on the walls of the heart's left ventricle as a result of high blood pressure. The flow loop design consisted of cameras, flow meters, a fluid pump, reservoirs, the ventricle geometry, and a working fluid that mimics the fluid properties of blood. I constantly refined and iterated upon the loop to streamline data collection and to ensure consistency across multiple tests. I built many components of the flow loop myself and also handled the wiring and programming of the flowmeters within LabVIEW. Particle Image Velocimetry was used to study the properties of the flow within the left ventricle and its effects on the walls. Despite not fully completing the project to the point of writing a published paper, this independent research spurned my development as an engineer. I have gained much more autonomy while I work, as I have learned to set realistic goals and deadlines for myself as well as becoming a more well-rounded problem solver. My understanding of fundamental fluid dynamics has deepened as I was constantly refining the flow loop and interacting with the system physically.