Professional Experience
Plant Biomechanics Engineering Postdoctoral Researcher
University of Idaho, 2019 - Present.
Postdoctoral researcher in the University of Idaho Agricultural Mechanics laboratory, specializing in computational modeling of plant biomechanics.
Computational modeling of tissue- and structure-level morphological characteristics.
Testing protocol development for high-throughput tissue characterization of biological tissue.
Mentoring of graduate and undergraduate researchers.
Development and teaching of graduate and undergraduate courses.
Plant Biomechanics Engineering PhD Research Scientist
New York University, 2016 - 2019.
PhD student and research assistant in the New York University Abu Dhabi Crop Biomechanics Laboratory, specializing in finite element modeling and material characterization of maize stalks.
Finite element simulations of maize stalk stresses.
Bending and Brazier buckling failure mode modeling.
Traditional strength of material characterization of stalks.
Sensitivity analyses on contributing physiological and mechano-biological characteristics.
Senior Mechanical Design Engineer
General Dynamics, 2010 - 2016.
System team leader for complex structural and mechanical submarine systems, specializing in the design and evaluation of missile systems using a combined non-linear finite element modeling and continuum mechanics approach.
Led a team of 12 engineers and 10 designers in designing and supervising the construction of a submarine-based Tomahawk missile launching platform.
Served as the primary technical advisor to Navy Captains and Commanders, advocating for a self-researched and developed design change, which resulted in large-scale changes to FY16 U.S. Congressional budget for a multi-billion-dollar defense project.