Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Mechanical engineer | 2019-2021
Summary
From 2019 to 2021, I was a mechanical engineer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution working in the Alvin Group. Alvin is a human occupied vehicle capable of carrying 3 people up to 6,500 meters below the surface. With over 5000 dives since 1964, Alvin has an incredibly accomplished history, and I’m grateful to have been a part of it.
During my time with the Alvin Group, I was able to contribute to new design work towards the upgraded depth rating to 6,500m, conduct at-sea operations aboard the R/V Atlantis, and carry-out qualification testing for new systems going into the sub during its major refit in 2020.
Experience
At-Sea operations
1
Performed routine at-sea vehicle maintenance, pre-dive checks and vehicle troubleshooting.
Conducted daily launch and recovery operations on support vessel and in the water with the submarine.
Integrated rotating payloads at-sea, for science campaigns and cruises.
Analysis and Modeling
2
Developed a novel numerical model to verify personnel sphere hull integrity by reusing already collected data CMM and UT testing data, to iteratively determine sphericity across the surface of the hull and validate that it is within spec. The procedure, and model were validated and approved by NAVSEA.
Managed weight and ballast reconciliation of all components on the submarine to verify overall weight, center of buoyancy, and center of mass.
integration and test
3
Designed test fixtures, and carried out validation campaigns for new hydraulic system components, high pressure ballast pumps and thrusters.
Oversaw depth testing of components at on-site pressure test facility.
Conducted major vessel overhaul including complete teardown and rebuild of submarine with upgrades.
Design
4
Redesigned Alvin’s science basket to increase payload capacity, and streamline science payload integration.
