INNOVATIVE DESIGN FOR COMPARATIVE BIOMECHANICS
My experience designing and building the tunnel-tube apparatus revealed the importance of designing new methods and improving my current methods for measuring biomechanical properties. Using CAD software such as Solidworks and Sketchup, I designed and built the tunnel-tube. I was able to rapidly 3D print new parts to test their fit and size, and even design and print new parts as challenges arose during testing. I developed and implemented a custom Fourier analysis program and workflow for use with the tunnel-tube. When working with bearded dragons, I developed a non-invasive method of attaching tantalum markers to the animals’ forelimbs in order to more easily track the limb bones during locomotion trials.
