Justin Sandrasagra, now a 5th year Mechanical Engineering Student, knew he wanted to pursue research at Smith Engineering at Queen’s. He initiated his search for a summer research position last year by reviewing Mechanical Engineering Faculty pages to see whose research matched with his own interests. He reached out to a potential supervisor, Dr. Jackson Crane, via email to set up a meeting to learn more.
“I was able to get a better sense of the supervisor and his research and share my personal learning goals,” said Justin. “This understanding helped us define a project and reaffirmed my interest in joining.”
The goal of Justin’s project in the Crane Energy Group was to design laboratory systems to study detonation phenomena in a long aluminum chamber. This is of interest because there is a new class of engines that use detonation, a supersonic form of combustion. His focus was the design and construction of a gas handling system to deliver combustible gaseous mixtures of varying composition to the apparatus. This included sourcing pressure transducers and valves to control the flow, development of a data acquisition and readout system, and installation of components on a gas panel. Throughout the project, he saw themes from coursework come to life which helped solidify his understanding of concepts.
“While designing the gas handling, I used equations I learned in fluid mechanics and thermodynamics courses. Courses in electronics helped me design the data acquisition system and select appropriate components.”
The summer research assistantship gave Justin a better sense of exactly what graduate studies entails and confirmed that this was the pathway for him.
“What I love about research is the feeling that we are pushing the boundaries of human knowledge. At the end of the assistantship, I felt more confident in my mechanical design and construction skills. I also appreciated working with talented students and professors towards a common goal. Overall, it was a highly rewarding experience.”
If you are considering a future in graduate studies, a summer research assistantship is a great option to more fully explore this path. It is also an excellent means to develop technical and professional skills that will help accelerate your development for a wide variety of other careers in engineering.
“Even if you don’t intend to pursue graduate studies, undergraduate research is attractive as you get to work at the cutting edge with brilliant individuals. It is a fun and collaborative environment that can teach you a lot.”