a) Q. Who are you and what activities are you involved in at Rice?

A. My name is Andreas Piaggio and I am a sophomore at Duncan College studying Mechanical Engineering. I sometimes play Club Tennis here at Rice, and for the past 2 semesters I’ve completed design projects at the OEDK. I also have recently picked up a love for running, and am considering joining some sort of related club here on campus.

b) Q. What is one thing that you made that you are proud of?

A. Last semester, I worked in a team with 3 other students (2 of which are in our section of the class) to create a device that monitors fume hood usage. The device takes in 2 inputs: the height of a fume hood, and the presence of a user in order to give appropriate alerts that help to reduce the excessive energy usage inherent with negligent fume hood usage. The most rewarding part of completing this project was being able to present at showcase, and the positive feedback we received from a lot of people we pitched our project to.

 

c) Q. What is one thing you want to make (this semester or in the future)?

A. I really want to make an epoxy table, so that I can use at as a really pretty decorative piece. I don’t know too much about the intricacies of making one, but I think I’d really enjoy being creative in the building process. Here’s a picture of one if you’re not familiar with what it is:

d) Q. What is one thing you hope to learn in Engi 210?

A. I really want to feel comfortable using most of the tools in the OEDK. I see this class as a way to go through some supervised failures, so that I can be more confident when trying to do my own DIY projects later on in life!