FUTURE PROJECTS
Below I have compiled a short list of the types of projects I am interested in. I prefer to work across disciplines, using as many skills as possible. I believe the best way to solve a problem is to approach is from many directions at once. These are projects to which I have no answers (yet) because the answers would require a team of dedicated people and time to produce and test solutions, but they show how I think and the projects I’d like to work on in the future.
Artificial Beehives for Asian Elephants
Asian elephants are considered pests by many farmers in Northern Thailand because they break down fences and decimate entire fields overnight. As elephants are afraid of bees, one solution to this is to build beehives along the fences to keep the elephants out naturally. However, beehives require a lot of extra maintenance, as well as an understanding of the way hives function.
One solution to this might be to approach the problem from a design perspective. There may be a way to design artificial beehives that require minimum maintenance and can produce noises and vibrations that mimic a real beehive. This could alleviate the stress that farmers feel from caring for crops as well as real beehives.
Photo: An elephant grabbing a snack, Chiang Mai, Thailand. Photo taken by me while researching elephants in the field in Feb. 2020.
Coral Nursery
Luckily, coral nurseries are popping up all over the world, from the Great Barrier Reef to the Caribbean. Even so, coral is struggling to stay alive as the planet continues to warm.
Using a hybrid of engineering, computer science, and product design (at a minimum), I’d like to investigate the possibility of keeping coral at comfortable temperatures using cooling “racks,” similar to the way water can be used to cool supercomputers.
Dying coral off the coast of St. John, USVI. Photo taken by me in Dec. 2019.
Reducing Whale Entanglement
Whales are frequently entangled in crab traps, despite new rules and regulations regarding their timing and placement. Often they become so entangled that they require (expensive) assistance from experts if they’re lucky, and if they’re unlucky, they’re faced with death. I would love to approach this kind of project and consider innovative solutions to this growing problem.