Robotics-Mechatronics-Smart Product Development & Patent Registrations Expert

Expertise

• Specialty engineering design and product development services.
• Smart product development, mechatronics, engineering education, and technical entrepreneurship.
• Developing college students through utilizing classroom knowledge to real time product development and entrepreneurship.
• Product and patent development in the construction, communications, medical products and education industries.

Experience

Undisclosed Company, Founder, 2013 - Present

• Providing specialty engineering design and product development services.
• Mechatronics and smart product develop consulting services.
• Recipient of numerous small business development grants.
• Employs student interns giving them the opportunity to apply their classroom knowledge in real world product development and technical entrepreneurship settings.
• Sponsors and mentors Entrepreneurial Minded Learning through IPD program.

Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, Research Associate and Professor, 2011 - 2018

Executed Various Positions

• Post-Doc Research Associate and Professor
• Full-time Professor
• Teaching Assistant and Advisor
• KEEN Faculty Champion
• Dean’s Doctoral Assistant
• Course Designer – ME 374 Mechatronics Lab
• Grader – MECH 102 Dynamics; Wrote literal solutions manual to accompany book’s answer key.

United State Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA), Management, 2012 - Present

• As Alpine Ski Race Official Organize student volunteer gate keepers and process race disqualifications.
• Ensure a safe of course for all competitors • Mentor new and inexperienced racers.

5th Street Capital Partners, Superintendent of Properties, 2010 - 2014

• Assisted in the growth of company and properties during employment.
• Construction managed and participated in the renovation of over 30 to 50 year-old homes.
• Managed over 35 houses and company office and apartment building.
• Provided routine maintenance along with on-call emergency repairs and lock-outs.

MSL, Owner and Licensed Contractor, 2003 - Present

• Computer hardware and software repairs, upgrades, maintenance, and implementations.
• Web design and hosting solutions.
• Network, video, home theater, and telecom installation including cable and electrical runs.
• Construction management, project management, and handyman services.

Educator

Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, Professor, 2016 - 2018

• Full-time Professor, hired as faculty member during last semester of graduate program for excellence in teaching and mastery of Technical Entrepreneurship and Mechatronic Dynamic Systems.
• Professor of Integrated Product Development (IPD)/Technical Entrepreneurship (TE) Capstone Course; Lecture and organize over 200 students across 31 teams. Supervise over 20 other team advisors and senior peer mentors.
• Lead weekly meetings to develop course policy and steer towards learning outcomes.
• Professor of Graduate Core Course; Graduate IPD o Co-teach with Mechanical Engineering Faculty Member over 50 Graduate Students from Mechanical Engr., Manufacturing Systems Engineering and TE Masters programs.
• Professor of Senior Dynamics Lab; Instruct two 20 student lab sections and supervise course teaching assistant.
• Mechatronics Lab; Project based senior elective that teaches the fundamentals of mechatronics, smart product development, and technical entrepreneurship.

The Technical Entrepreneurship Capstone; TA and Advisor, 2013 - 2015

Integrated Product Development

• Manage a Junior-Senior capstone design course for Mechanical, Material Science, Biology Engineers along with Supply Chain Management and Marketing students.
• Students work in teams of 6-7 on industry sponsored projects.
• Instructor; Product development in a business context – Customer driven design.
• Switched course and users (250+) from clunky Course Site software to Google Drive for group project file sharing greatly increasing the efficiency and ease of use for both students and advisors.

Lehigh Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN), Various Positions, 2015 - 2018

• Under a $200K grant to install the entrepreneurial mindset in engineering undergraduates, one of 12 KEEN Faculty Champions across Engineering. Disciplines tasked with creating a dialog within and between departments to increase overall student engagement and knowledge retention through Entrepreneurial Minded Learning (EML).
• Participated in Entrepreneurial Minded Learning/Project Based Learning pedagogy and implementation workshop at Lawrence Technical University.

Entrepreneurial Minded Learning Course Design: Senior Dynamics, 2015 - 2018

• Redesigned course to apply KEEN principles and Entrepreneurial Minded Learning.
• Guided students in learning how to model and collect parameters of DC motors using Simulink software and Teensy microcontrollers.
• Utilizing their new knowledge of motors constructed a crane under real world conditions such as weight and complexity restrictions.
• Competition is held, with the winner being the team whose crane is the lightest, simplest crane that can lift a weight the fastest while being the most accurate simulating the many costs and values that must be considered in the real world.
• Supervised fellowship student through KEEN grant to create a simplified version of the course for outreach programs such as PreLUsion and CHOICES.

Mechatronics Lab Manager, 2013 - 2018

• Provide consultations on technical projects for students, professors, and teams.
• Maintain inventory, organization, procurement, and maintenance of lab and equipment.
• Teaching Assistant for Senior Dynamics Lab (ME 207) and Mechatronics an in lab-course.

Work Study and Independent Study Supervisor, 2015 - 2018

• Mentored both Electrical and Mechanical Engineering students using project-based learning to teach Mechatronic concepts.
• Advised two Senior student entrepreneurs for independent study, so they can develop their product and biomedical technology start-up.         

TA - Engineering 10/97, Instructor, 2013 - 2014

• Introduction to MATLAB and Arduino for freshman.
• Brought Arduino and Teensy across the curriculum through course development.
• Revolutionized the grading system by giving each student a card to track their progress through the course’s lab exercises allowing for instant feedback to both students and teachers. This system also reduced weekly grade input time from 2 hours to 20 minutes.
• Upgraded electrical and electronics in course’s final Arduino projects.

Mechatronics Lab course, (ME 374), 2012         

• Designed and wrote entire set of PowerPoint based self-paced lecture slides.
• Utilized flip-the-classroom model where students work from PowerPoints on their own then ask professor/TA remaining questions.
• Project based learning where fundamental mechatronics skills are taught through students building their own thermal chamber.

Digital Control Systems, (ME387), 2011 - 2012

• Developed library for Simulink Arduino Target to allow multiple servos to be controlled simultaneously.
• Adapted course to use Arduino for real-time control implementation from Simulink software.

Research, Research Scientist, 2013 - Present

• Scientist and Post-Doctoral Research with focus to the continued development of snake-like robot.
• Publications from dissertation.
• Federal grant writing.
• Research into effect of active/ and collaborative learning techniques on student engagement during lectures.
• Graduate Research. First Ph.D. candidate to propose, sponsor, conduct, and patent their own dissertation research in the Mechanical Engineering Department.
• Working with Advisors, Senior Staff and Professors on several programs:
• Integrated Product Development and Master of Engineering in Technical Entrepreneurship programs. Committee Members (Faculty of Lehigh University);
• Dynamic Systems and Mechatronics, Mechanical Engineering;
• Tribology, Mechanical Engineering;
• Product Development, Assistant Chair of Art, Architecture, and Design;
• Modeling and improvement of melt flow in injection molding systems;
• Design of micro-fluidic devices for early circulating tumor cell detection;
• Hopper Space Simulator and Lunar Lion Google X-Prize Team;
• Developed method to interface the hardware and software of the Hopper allowing for control algorithms to be written and compiled in Simulink then executed on an on-board embedded computer enabling them to control the servos, sensors, and thrust fans in real-time.

Other Employment

Pocono Whitewater, Leader, 2009 - Present

• Lead guests and guides on class II/III whitewater rafting trips managing the activity of over 120 people.
• Responsible for training new guides and teaching existing guides how to lead their own trips.
• One of a select few guides who lead the company’s premier trip, the Big Day Out, consisting of biking, hiking, and rafting.

Aalta Sports, Beaver Creek, CO, Management, 2007 - 2008

• Assisted overseeing the operations of a ski rental shop.
• Worked with adhesive label company to design rental ski identification tag that can withstand the wear from skiing yet be easily removed by shop technicians.

Accomplishments

Doctoral Work

• Entrepreneurially Minded Engineering Design and Development of a Novel Snake-like Robot, invented 1 inch diameter robot that is able to see, drive, and drill in walls to pull wires.
• Created new graduate program called Entrepreneurially Minded Dissertation (EMD).
• Additional applications of technology: Disaster relief – locating and remotely assisting trapped persons.
• Home inspection – looking for issues within walls.
• Space exploration – next generation of robotic arms for space exploration.
• Bionics – new high force, agile prosthetic limbs and assistive devices.
• Self-sponsored and funded project – Lehigh University has no ownership of the technology thus patent is wholly owned by this expert.
• Raised over $200,000 in non-dilutive funds.
• 2nd place in 2016 Lemelson-MIT Student Inventor Competition.
• Focused studies: Smart product development, mechatronics, engineering education, and technical entrepreneurship.

Honors & Publications

License-Certifications

• Pennsylvania Home Improvement Contractor
• Professional Engineer
• Engineer in Training, PA Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs
• Medical Technician, PA Department of Health
• Swift Water Rescue

Academic and Professional Affiliations

• American Society of Mechanical Engineers

Awards

• John B. Ochs Award for Faculty Achievement in Entrepreneurship Education.
• Lemelson-MIT Student Inventor Competition – National Finalist, based on portfolio of inventions, commercialization, systems thinking, and mentorship.
• Homewood International Society of Automation Engineering Scholarship.

Grants

• Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance (PITA) Grant to support the development of the snake-like robot and open source instrumentation tools as a collaboration between I.I. LLC, Professor Brandon Krick, and the Technical Entrepreneurship (TE) Master’s program at Lehigh University.
• South Side Bethlehem Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ) Technology Transfer Grant awarded to Impossible Incorporated to finance the foreign patents of the snakelike robot.
• Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance (PITA) Grant to support the development of the snake-like robot as a collaboration between I.I. LLC and the Professor at Lehigh University.
• Penn State Lehigh Valley LaunchBox Grant, supporting the development of snake-like robot.
• Moravian College Graduate Business Program Strategic Business Projects. One of two companies selected to receive a team of 5 MBA students to refine and address I.I. LLC’s strategic goals.
• Eureka! Ventures Competition – Legacy Award Recipient. Received 2 Integrated Product Development (IPD) undergraduate student teams to continue developing wall scanner and robot user interface.
• South Side Bethlehem Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ) Technology Transfer Grant, awarded to I.I. LLC to finance the development and patenting of snake-like robot
• KIZ Student Internship Grants to hire an undergraduate mechanical engineering student, a graduate mechanical engineering student and an undergraduate electrical engineer student.
• Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) Student Internship to hire a recent mechanical engineering graduate.
• South Side Bethlehem Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ) Technology Transfer Grant awarded to I.I. LLC to finance the development and patenting of snake-like robot.
• Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) Student Internship Grant to hire a recent mechanical engineering graduate.
• Eureka! Ventures Competition – 1st Place, Levin Advanced Technology Prize; cash to support robot development.Co-working space at Ben Franklin Technology Partners.
• 2 Integrated Product Development (IPD) undergraduate student teams to develop a scanner capable of mapping structural members and obstacles in walls.
• United States Economic Development Authority (USEDA) Grant. Student IPD team to work on developing drill robot’s user interface. To hire mechanical engineering.

Publications and Patents

• Author of numerous Publications Conferences and Presentations
• Numerous U.S. and Provisional Patents

Education

• Ph.D.     Philosophy, Mechanical Engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA
• M.S.E.   Mechanical Engineering Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA
• B.S.   Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering (minor) Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA