Week 7

Hey y'all.

So, engineering for me was one of those things that was just natural, I guess.  I come from a family with a large number of engineers in it (primarily EE) so I grew up around engineering and in a family with a large emphasis on the STEM fields.  I think the first time I realized I really wanted to be an Engineer was in high school though, starting to apply for colleges when I had to actually start thinking about what I wanted to go to school for.  I've always enjoyed math and science, more applied than theoretical, and I always enjoyed talking to the engineers I knew about what they were designing.  The exposure from my family was definitely a big influence on what I wanted to do, though Mechanical and EE are closely intertwined they aren't overly similar.  I originally started out with acoustics (a subset of Mechanical) and would, ultimately, probably enjoy doing thermofluids-related acoustics or power-related acoustics, which combines my enjoyment of STEM and music, a hobby I really need to get back into.  I also always was more analytical and enjoyed problem solving, so engineering just made sense.  I mean, I can't really think of any other major that I would enjoy as much as engineering (mechanical or EE, as I have done way more EE than originally planned by my university's mechanical curriculum), especially with how my senior year will be starting in just over a month.

Research is going fairly well, right now I'm working on coding some proof-of-concept pressure sensors for one of the HPEH devices while awaiting parts to come in so I can begin designing static pressure sensor circuits (more specifically, figuring out which op-amps to use in order to optimize the circuit for voltage output).  I've updated some reports from previous undergrads that have worked on the HPEH projects either through REUs or as part of undergrad coursework at GT as I have modified some of the parts they had previously created.

- Tanya