Skills: Design of Experiments, Sensor Selection, Data Analysis, Paper Writing, Poster Creation, Presentation, Vibration Analysis
Spring '22, my second semester of Junior year, I took 2.671: Measurement and Instrumentation, where students are challenged to create a GoForth Project, where they 'Go forth' and measure something in the real world and create a research paper and poster about their work. Students choose all kinds of topics that have meaning to them, and the poster presentation session every year is an eclectic group of scientific research into every hobby and interest imaginable.
I spend a lot of time shooting my bow and thinking about how to improve my overall accuracy and precision, so the first thing to mind was archery. My research project is titled "The Effect of Weight Ratio on Olympic Recurve Bow Damping". You can view my poster below and read my paper via the link at the bottom of the page.
I learned a lot of things during this project, but my main takeaways are taking and processing meaningful data, managing a project with key deliverables and tight timelines, and using background research to inform experimental design choices.
Also, I'm currently using the conclusion of this work in my training as an archer, maximizing my damping by weighting my side stabilizer rods more than my front rod. It's working out great so far!