Why Riddle?

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Lindsey

It is during peak College Admissions time, and this time two years ago I was trying to decide which university to attend. I know what you are going through, so I thought, why not write about why I chose to come to ERAU? It is a question I get asked a lot. Many people ask, “You’re a business student, why did you come to ERAU?”. Well, let me tell you…

First of all, I have been interested in air travel my entire life. I always loved going to the airport, getting on a plane, and in a few hours, I would be across the country. It was always amazing to me how many people are transported via air travel each day. This is why I pursued aviation. People say, “once you catch the aviation bug, it will never leave you”, and I have found this to be very true. No matter what, I know that I love aviation and I love to travel, so I morphed that love into a career path.

You’re thinking, ‘why business’? Well, I wasn’t exactly sure why at first. I loved Calculus in high school, so I decided, ‘well, I’ll be an engineer’. All of my teachers in high school told me to pursue engineering, since I was good at math. Up until about a few months before I had to apply for colleges, I was committed to being an engineer. However, I had a moment of realization when I attended a presentation by another university. They discussed all of their lab equipment, science classes, and the technology they had. I simply thought to myself, this does not interest me. Many people look at engineering as a high-paying job that is in high-demand, which is true, but they don’t realize all of the dedication you have to have to your studies and career. At least, I didn’t. I am so thankful that in that moment I realized that I did not have a passion for engineering and science. Because of that, I discovered I loved business. I realized I loved the power in decision-making business has. I wanted to be able to analyze revenues, costs, customer satisfaction, etc. and make a smart business decision. Then, I thought, ‘wait, I love aviation and I love business, why not do both?’. That is how I decided my future career path.

Now as to why I chose Riddle. It is pretty self-explanatory. ERAU is top in the nation for aviation, so why settle for anything less? I visited campus in Daytona Beach and fell in love. I liked the smaller size, the friendly atmosphere, and the proximity to the beach and central Florida. After I visited, my mind was made up. I knew ERAU was where I belonged. Don’t get me wrong, I was still VERY nervous to attend a university that was 3,300 miles away from my home in Seattle, WA. However, I knew I needed to get out of my comfort zone, and I thought college was the perfect way to do it. I also got a chance to look at all of the student organizations on the ERAU website, and I knew I wanted to get involved. I saw so many options for clubs and organizations that were interesting to me, so I felt like I would fit in and be able to contribute to something other than my academics.

So, here I am. Attending the most prestigious aviation school in the country, studying Aviation Business Administration, and writing to prospective students. What could be better? I truly love Embry-Riddle and am passionate about sharing my experience here, as well as why Riddle is an amazing place to be. As I finish up this post, I want to leave you (prospective students) with some advice…

Take time to think about what your passions are, and how you can apply them to a career.
Make your own decision about where you want to attend university. After all, you are the one who is going to be attending, not your friends or parents.
Do not stress about finances just yet. Apply where you want to apply, and everything will work itself out.
Visit campus. This is so important in getting a feel for what life is actually like at the university!
Don’t stress. I know the college application process is very frightening, but I promise you, you will end up where you are supposed to be.

Trust the process. I am so grateful that I trusted myself and made my own decision to attend ERAU. It has been the most beneficial choice I have made, and I am so thankful for everything Riddle has done for me already. If you are like me, scared to leave home and pursue your passion, take the jump! I promise you it will be such a rewarding experience. I hope to see you here soon!

Until next time,

Lindsey

This is Halloween!

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Rachel

Finally, the weather is getting a little bit colder, which can only mean one thing! It is almost time for my favorite holiday – Halloween! Naturally during this time of year, I do whatever I can to celebrate the holiday in style. This includes getting involved in my sorority’s Halloween Fashion Show, decorating my room with skeletons and spider webs, collecting candy, and attending any special Halloween event I can find.

Me and one of my Sigma sisters, Alissa, about to enter Magic Kingdom!

As a kind of tradition, earlier this month I drove to Orlando for Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights (HHN). HHN is Universal’s annual Halloween event, where there are a total of nine haunted houses for guests to walk through, along with different shows. Since I am from Orlando and currently a Universal employee, HHN is something I try to do every Halloween season, and this was my fourth year attending the event.

Some of the Eta Tau sisters standing in front of Cinderella’s castle

This year I attended another theme park event that I have never gone to before – Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party! My Tri Sigma chapter, Eta Tau, decided that the event would be a great way to meet our sisters from Epsilon Rho, another chapter we have at St. Leo’s University. For those of you who do not know what Mickey’s Not So Scary is, it is Disney’s annual Halloween event. Since it is a family event, it is kid-friendly and not scary at all. It even features trick-or-treating for not just the children, but for the adults too! My sisters and I got to go on all of the best rides, like Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain and the Haunted Mansion (my favorite). The best part of the night for us was taking our bags and hitting all of the candy locations so we could stock up on sweets for the rest of the month.

Tonight is Tri Sigma’s 8th Annual Halloween Fashion Show! I am so excited because this will be my first time experiencing the fashion show and I even get to walk in it. This year I am going to be Cher from the 90s film Clueless, the Grumpy Carebear, and Spencer from Pretty Little Liars. Also, I am going to be in the show’s dance, which is a big deal because I am definitely not a dancer.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Autumn Break – Part 2

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Nicolas

As I stated in Part 1, I spent Fall Break home in Canada. The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of fall are the tree leaves changing colors. I spent many hours outside raking leaves on the grass and walking my dog even though it was very cold outside. To my surprise, it snowed a few times during my stay!

King George Park – Westmount, QC

First snow of the fall and it's only in mid-October!

First snow of the fall and it was only mid-October!

For the first day of my break, I went to my friend’s house to watch the first home hockey game of the Montreal Canadiens. In Daytona Beach, I don’t have many friends who are big fans of hockey, so it was great to watch a hockey game with friends back home. It is even better when your team wins! We won the game 3-0 that night for a streak of five wins. The last time the Canadiens won five straight wins at the beginning of the season was in 1977.

The next day, we celebrated my Dad’s aunt’s birthday. She turned 90 years old so it was a big event. More than 20 of my extended family members came to our house for dinner. There were people present that I haven’t seen in over 10 years, so it was great to catch up with everyone.

On Saturday, I attended the Montreal Canadiens against the Detroit Redwings at the Bell Centre in Montreal. It was my first time going this season. I am excited every time I go because I love the atmosphere over there. The fans are the best in the league and we have the largest arena in terms of seat capacity. We ended up winning the game 4-1, which improved the team’s record to six consecutive wins (as of today we have 9 straight wins!).

Face-off after the Montreal Canadiens scored their second of the game in the third period.

The weekend of the break marked the median of the fall semester, but it also marked the end of another legacy airline. On Saturday, October 17, 2015, the last branded US Airways flight landed at Philadelphia International Airport. Click here if you are interested on the full report of flight US1939. From now on, all future flights will be branded as American Airlines. For those who did not know, US Airways merged with American Airlines in December 2013 to form the largest air carrier in the world. As time goes, we will no longer see the US Airways livery as the airplanes are being repainted in the new American livery.

After I landed in Montreal, I made a detour to the departure levels and took a picture of one of the US Airways check-in kiosk. When check-in at the airport on my way back to Florida, the US Airways brand had already disappeared!

This wraps up my Fall Break. Next weekend, I will be heading to a destination in the Northeast of the United States. Check back in a week to see which destination it is!

Nicolas

A Week in the Life of Skye

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Skye

Hello all! We’re almost done with this week! It has been a crazy busy week so far. Exams, quizzes, papers, and everything in between. My week so far has been far from quiet and calm. Monday was my 50 minute Calculus class and another 12 of homework and studying. Tuesday went the same way but I prepared for my presentation on Year in Space for the Society 4 S.P.A.C.E.’s weekly segment of “Space News with Skye.” Yesterday, now that was one of the most packed days I have had in a while. Having an exam and dealing with my presentation, moving, CATIA homework, MATLAB homework, and COM 122 homework. I managed to get through it, but I did wake up at 4:00a this morning to finish my CATIA homework.

My presentation yesterday went great! I spoke about Scott Kelly and how he recently broke the record for the longest cumulative days in space spent by an America, 383 days, which he hit on October 16^th. I loved the PowerPoint I made! It even had an epic picture of Scott Kelly while playing a video of his journey so far. Yes, I fell in love with a PowerPoint! Haha

The fun part about being involved is that today the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization/SGA is having a Research showcase in the Lehman Building Atrium from 11:00a-2:00p. Clubs and organizations that are involved in research get to showcase what they are all about. I have to honor or representing MEERS and the Society 4 S.P.A.C.E. I printed out all the materials this morning and I am ready to go! If you have a chance, come stop by and say hi!

Speaking of involved, MEERS is going to be one of the featured Research projects on the ERAU Crowdsource website! We are filming/shooting the video and pictures today at 5:00p! There a few of us will be interviewed about MEERS and we get to showcase our project. Being involved on this project and seeing it now get featured is an honor. Thanks to our Project Manager Tim, and out Faculty Advisor Dr. Jason Kring this could not have been possible!

As for the rest of the week, today will be CEO/SGA presentation, classes, filming and packing the whole house. Moving day tomorrow-Sunday on top of a lot of homework and planning my schedule for the spring semester. I usually would have it planned out but since I added in my minor, I have to re-work my whole schedule. I also have a calculus test next week that I plan on studying for. Lots and lots to do! On top of all that I am excited because I will be planning the next segment of “Space News with Skye” as well as organizing and updating the Astro Skye website. Awesome fact: I met one of my fans in real life the other day! It was so awesome to meet a fan who enjoyed my work. It was definitely the highlight of my day!

With the work week almost done and a lot to do, it is going to be a busy weekend! Have a great day everyone!

Fall Break in Boston

Posted on October 21, 2015 by Lindsey

I cannot believe half of the semester is already over! Time is seriously flying. Fall Break signifies the middle of the semester, which is nice, but also frightening because of how much I still have to do before the end of the semester! However, it was nice to get away for Fall Break last weekend.

Like most people, I left Daytona to travel. However, what was different is that I was traveling for ‘work’. I say ‘work’ because I wasn’t going home to see my family, and technically I was working, although, my work is so much fun. I traveled to Boston for the Women’s Ambassador Program. I traveled with my friend Kalina, who is also an ambassador. The purpose of the trip was to volunteer at the Geek is Glam STEM Expo for Girl Scouts. We did volunteer, but we also got to sight-see!

Kalina and I woke up very early Friday morning to catch our flight to Boston. After a couple flights, coffees, and awkward naps on the plane, we made it to Boston. Once we arrived we were picked up by an ERAU Admissions Counselor, whom we work with a lot. We all went straight to downtown Boston. Kalina is from MA, so she knew everything about Boston, but what she didn’t know is that she would be surprised by her family when we arrived! After all of the excitement, the group of us toured around the city, since I had never really been downtown.

Hello, Boston!

Our first stop was Quincy Market, where I had the most amazing Lobster Roll. It was delicious!! New England sure does know how to do Lobster. Next, we walked around to Faneuil Hall, Town Hall, Beacon Hill, and through a few parks. I was amazed by all of the history in the city. Of course I learned about Boston in U.S. History, but it was crazy to be where all of the history took place. After our long walk, we walked to Little Italy to grab a cannoli at Mike’s Pastry, which is apparently pretty famous! The cannoli was to-die-for! After our treat we spent some time down by the water, and then headed out of town to our hotel in Central Massachusetts.

Famous Quincy Market

Kalina and I in front of Faneuil Hall

Myself, Crystal, Kalina, and a friend

Old City Hall building

Chocolate Chip Cannoli from Mike’s Pastry

The drive was beautiful, since I got to see the historic Fenway Park, and all of the leaves changing colors. It was nice to be in crisp air as opposed to Florida’s muggy, warm air. However, I did not like the temperature!! All weekend it was about 50 degrees, with lows in the 30s. I was definitely not used to that. We got to our hotel and went out for a nice dinner at a local Italian place. Then it was time for bed, since Kalina and I had such a long day of travel.

The next day, Saturday, we had our event. We had to run to Walmart to grab some supplies, which was an experience! We ended up searching for a long time for a laundry detergent called Borax, which we needed to make the Goo we were using for the event. After countless walks around the aisles, we finally found it, which was a relief. The event took place at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. It was a beautiful campus, filled with old brick buildings with modern flares. There were about 450 Girl Scouts who were on campus for the event, which as you can imagine, was pretty crazy. At our booth, we had straws and marshmallows for the girls to build towers with, and Goo for the girls to play with. Goo is a putty-like substance created with Borax, glue, and water. Other booths had robots, ice cream made with liquid nitrogen, and many other science-related items.It was about a 4 hour event, however I spent a lot of the time making Goo. It was a hit with the girls!! However, it takes about 15 minutes to make a batch of it, which had to be made in the bathroom. I ended up running back and forth from the booth to the bathroom making and delivering Goo. It was all worth it, though. I loved seeing the girls so excited and eager to learn about the Goo. It was a rewarding feeling knowing that I helped to keep them interested in science.

Kalina and I making Goo at the STEM Expo

After the event, we drove to Wahlburgers, which is Mark, Donnie, and Paul Wahlberg’s restaurant. They have their own show, which showcases the restaurant and their family life. I had Donnie’s Choice Burger, which turned out to be the best burger I had ever had, a frappe (milkshake), and fries! Now I understand why there was a 45 minute wait to get a table. The restaurant was unique and fun, which is why I think so many people love it.

YUM, Wahlburgers!

Once we had finished eating, we drove to Salem, MA to experience the spookiness. Since it is October, Salem was hosting many Halloween-related events. It was very, very cold that night, so we walked around the streets quickly looking at all of the famous sites. The place that blew me away the most was the memorial for those who died during the Salem Witch Trials. It is crazy to read how they died, and why they were believed to have been a witch. The history in Salem was incredibly overwhelming, however it is worth the visit.

The Witch House in Salem

The next day, Kalina and I headed to the airport at 5:30am to catch a flight back to our warm, Florida residences. I cannot explain how grateful I am to have been able to travel to Boston with one of my closest friends. I never thought I would ever get to see New England and all of its history, so it was an experience I am incredibly thankful for. I cannot wait for more amazing ‘work’ trips in the future, but for now, back to school!!

Until next time,

Lindsey

Fall Break & The Martian

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Skye

Hello all! Hope your Monday wasn’t too bad. Yeah, we all hate Mondays! I actually kind of like my Mondays. I only have on class: MA241 from 1:00p-1:50p. Now that I have a car, 🙂 it was nice to sleep in a little and relax before class and then head home right after and go back to watching Netflix. Now I know we all love Netflix! Then I do have to go back at 5:30p-8:00p for meetings, but it is not so bad.

Fall break was full of studying, packing, and yes, again, Netflix. Thursday night a few friends and I went bowling at Bellair Lanes down on A1A for 25 cent night. Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday Bellair Lanes has a special. It is an $11 cover fee then its 25 cent games, hotdogs, sodas, and shoes are included. It’s pretty sweet! Between the 10 people that were there we ordered 30 hotdogs and played about 8-10 rounds of bowling. For the 4 rounds and 3 hotdogs I ate, plus the soda, it only cost $2.00 for all of that! It was a super fun and cheap night. After that on Friday, my boyfriend and I packed up the kitchen (moving this coming weekend) and then watched Netflix for the rest of the day. Not very eventful. On Saturday we had a BBQ with one of our friends and cooked Hamburgers and stuffed jalapeños. I don’t like jalapeños so I passed on those! Then, the night ended with Avatar Golf and guitar playing. Sunday was the most tedious day. From 9:00a-9:00p it was all homework and studying. Not very fun but us College Students are great and putting off homework on breaks!

— The Martian —

On another note, I forgot to write a blog about this when it happened, but like they say, better late than never! On October 1st, I went to go see “The Martian.” Yes, I am a space nerd, I want to be an astronaut, and I plan on being the first person to step foot on Mars, so yes, “The Martian.” Holy moly! It was the best movie of life! I am not a big reader but I read “The Martian” and I could not put the book down! It was thrilling, funny, and full of action. Best book I have ever read! The movie did have to cut some parts out that I should have been in there, but after it is Hollywood. They can only fit so much into a 2 hour time span.

The way they cast “The Martian” was absolutely perfect! They could not have cast it any better. Matt Damon had Mark Watney down pat! And Jessica Chastain, she did a phenomenal job! The movie had a perfect mix of comedy, action, drama, and potatoes. A lot of potatoes! Out of the space trilogy, “Gravity (2013),” “Interstellar (2014),” and “The Martian (2015),” “The Martian” is definitely my number one! As you can see I was a little obsessed with the poster. I wanted to take it home. On my social media accounts, I even changed my profile picture and I became “The Martian.” Yes, I am in love with the movie, the concept, and the execution.

My boyfriend Josh and I, had the first showing! We saw it Thursday October 1st at 8:00p! Both of us being excited, but obviously I was a little more excited because we got to the theater 2 hours early. Yep! There was no one in the theater for a good hour. It was nice listening to music and talking about the book. The movie was a nice treat after reading the book. Even though I already knew what was going to happen, I still was on the edge of my seat! What can I say, I love space!

I haven’t gone to the movies in a while. I have seen a lot of movies good and bad. However, “The Martian” is like no movie I have ever seen. It had the right balance, the right cast, and the perfect story. There was enough emotion, heart, and soul put into this movie and you can tell. It puts the idea of going to Mars into perspective. Things can go wrong, risks are taken, and lives are at stake. But for those who seek adventure and exploration it can become a reality.

Life @ Riddle – The First Half of Fall

Posted on October 19, 2015 by Skye

Hello Riddle Kids! Hope your week is going good! Before you know it, it will be the end of the week! Regarding the fall semester, we are halfway through it! A lot has happened and it has flown by! With midterms coming up, it really is good timing!

So let’s talk school. What has happened in this half of the semester? New professors, new classes, and new adventures. Currently I am taking EGR 120 Graphical Communications, EGR 115 Intro to Computing for Engineers, COM 122 English Composition, PSY 310 Sensation and Perception, and MA 241 Calculus and Analytical Geometry I. For those engineers out there, yes they don’t advise you to take EGR 115 & 120 at the same time, but I had no choice. Being dual major means you are jam packed for your career here at Riddle. Classes have been going well and homework stacks up. Staying ahead has been a plus. It has allotted me free time. Being involved in all the clubs and organizations has also kept me busy. We have broken ground and made a lot of progress. All the hard work has definitely paid off!

Space Shuttle Toy taken apart

Fall has been jam packed with exams, projects, and homework. I would have to say I am really excited about my EGR 120 final project. I get to take apart and build (in CATIA) a Space Shuttle Pullback Toy! I will admit I am a total space nerd so yes, I am really excited! Today, I got to take it apart and inventory all the different parts. It was really interesting to see how everything fit together. There were actually more parts then I believed to be, but hey, more work! As an engineering student a Riddle, I always thought that it was going to be impossible to understand the material, but it has been coming to me easier than I thought. Not all the material comes to me right away but it takes practice and dedication. You certainty will not get everything on the first try that is for sure!

Being an engineering student gives me and all you other students the opportunity to grow and create the next big thing. We are the next generation to shape and build the future. How cool is that?! The fact that Riddle has such a great engineering program, assures me that I can shape the future. I do love that feeling.

For the full part: in between school I have traveled a little bit. I’ve gone to Orlando, St. Augustine, New Smyrna Beach, Coral Springs, FL and Savannah, GA. It was a lot of fun traveling and seeing parts of Florida and Georgia that I haven’t seen in quite a while. In St. Augustine, I had the chance to see a luau! It was my second luau I have ever seen and it was totally an amazing experience! I know they have one more luau on October 24th so if you have time to drive to St. Augustine, it is a lot of fun! Escaping from Daytona was a nice break.

Although it is almlost over, I will still be hitting the books and watching the stars. With 3 exams this week and upcoming projects there is no time to waste! Have a great rest of the fall semester everyone!

Autumn Break – Part 1

Posted on October 19, 2015 by Nicolas

The Embry-Riddle autumn break marks the median of the fall semester. Some students use this time to go back home with their family that they haven’t seen since the end of August. Students sometimes spend the long weekend and try to catch up with the workload or even to get a little bit ahead. I always tell myself that I will catch up on everything during Fall Break and Thanksgiving but it never happens. I do get some work done, but not as much as I want!

Famous “Fly Delta Jets” sign at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Int. Airport.

My break started on the afternoon of the last day of classes. My journey started at Daytona Beach International (Regional) Airport and was scheduled to end when I land in Montreal, my final destination. It was my first time using the TSA PreCheck lane at the Daytona airport (it was inaugurated at the end of September). It allows trusted travelers flying in the U.S. with expedited security screening. Passengers enrolled in the program do not need to remove shoes, laptops, liquids, belt, and light jackets. Something I like in small airports such as Daytona is that it only takes a few minutes to get seated at the gate from the time passengers enter the terminal.

My first leg to Atlanta was uneventful with the exception of a few bumps while approaching ATL. I think it was my first time connecting in Atlanta without having to take the Plane Train to get to my next flight in a different concourse. This time, my next flight was only five gates away! My next stop was New York LaGuardia, an outdated airport where the average taxi time before takeoff is about 45 minute. Thanks to the $4 billion plan, announced in July, to replace the airport completely. Although the airport has many negative aspects, I like the variety of restaurants they have for a domestic airport. They also have a small supermarket and a food court in concourse D offering many dining options for connecting passengers. The flight from LaGuardia to Montreal was only a short 52 minutes from wheels up to touchdown. As we approached the end of the flight, the captain made an announcement to the cabin: “Good evening from the flight deck ladies and gentlemen, we have started our initial descent in the Montreal area. The visibility in Montreal is great with gusty winds and a temperature of 4 degrees Celsius (39 degrees Fahrenheit).” I was only wearing jeans and a t-shirt and did not have a coat. I felt the cold right when I got out of the aircraft!

Flying over Brooklyn a few moments before touching down on runway 31 at LGA.

Flying over Brooklyn a few moments before touching down on runway 31 at LaGuardia.

The reason I flew three legs instead of two is that I want to get more segments and miles to get Silver Medallion® status on Delta Air Lines. In Part 2, I will tell you a little bit about the exciting things I did back home.

Nicolas

Famous People – Anniversaries – Space – Excitement!

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Billy

Look! I found the Death Star’s superlaser!

Hello, hello! I hope everyone’s been well! Not a lot has happened so I apologize for lying in my last update.

I’ve never seen so many people in the quad before.

I guess the biggest elephant in the room was that Embry-Riddle’s 50th birthday in Daytona Beach was last Friday. The gala, dubbed “Operation Bootstrap 2.0” (in reference to Operation Bootstrap which was the name given to Embry-Riddle’s massive move from Miami to Daytona Beach) was incredibly large and attracted many people. There were zip lines, food carts, a large “mob shot” (a group photo), and fireworks. I, unfortunately, could not stay for the whole thing, but from what I could see, it was awesome!

It’s like I’m at Coachella…or Glastonbury…or Lollapalooza…

Ermergerd it’s Amelia Rose Earhart!

Another highlight was that Amelia Rose Earhart recently spoke at Riddle. She was here for the Presidential Speaker Series we have on campus every week or so. I was very disappointed because not many people showed up. Considering the event was free and her contributions to the world of aviation have gone unnoticed, I’d thought the Willy Miller Center would’ve been a mad house. Anyway, Earhart’s presentation was wonderful regardless. She is very passionate about flying and I believe anyone sitting in the audience that night felt that.

It’s hard to not look awkward in pictures.

My friend Christopher Nguyen (no we’re not related) who’s soon to be the world’s first FAA certified suborbital flight instructor!

Some random cosmonaut I found. (He’s not really a cosmonaut)

Recently, I was allowed the opportunity to visit PoSSUM, Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere, a team of students and faculty conducting high altitude research. I met with some really cool people and got to see not only the suborbital flight simulator and pressure suits in action, I also randomly met Patty Wagstaff!

I’m still really confused with how Patty Wagstaff just happened to show up.

I think the last “major” thing that happened was me finding myself in a movie theater crowded with Riddle students watching The Martian. The movie was absolutely fantastic so if any of you are on the fence about it, do it. Matt Damon really nailed Mark Watney’s character and this might get him an Oscar.

That’s it for now. I think the next update might be fun since I’m in the process of getting accredited to go see ULA’s (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket launch from Cape Canaveral October 30th. Also, I’m planning on seeing Bridge of Spies with a few friends which also looks really good. 2015 really is the year for movies I’ll tell you what.

So on that bombshell (?), take care everyone, and I’ll see you on Sol 29!

Biomechanical/medical Engineering

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Skye

In the Mechanical Engineering department at Embry-Riddle, a new track has opened up. The current tracks were Robotics, Clean Energy, and High Performance Vehicles. It is time to welcome a new track: Biomechanical/Medical Engineering! I am proud to say I am in that track! Since it is a new track here at Riddle, there is a lot to get involved in and learn from. Dr. Eduardo Divo heads the track and the program here at ERAU. The technical definition of Biomechanical Engineering (according to Wikipedia) is that it is “a bioengineering sub discipline, which applies principles of mechanical engineering to biological systems and stems from the scientific discipline of biomechanics. Topics of interest in the field include biomedical engineering and agricultural engineering.” Basically, it deals with a bunch of different aspects, in particular, fluids.

As all of you engineering students know here at Riddle the “gauntlet” is fluids, solids, and dynamics. Well, if you plan to be in the Biomechanical track, pay attention in fluids! Biomechanical has a range of topics it covers but one of the main ones it ties into includes biomedical. It deals with biology and medicine. Usually pertaining to the human body. For example, one of the projects biomechanical/medical engineering is working on here at hypo Riddle include the Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, or HLHS, is “one of the most complex cardiac defects seen in the newborn and remains probably the most challenging to manage of all congenital heart defects. It is one of a
group of cardiac anomalies that can be grouped together under the description single ventricle defects” (Cincinnati Children’s). Basically, when babies are born with HLHS their whole left side of the heart is underdeveloped. Since the left side of the heart can’t effectively pump blood to the body, the right side of the heart has to pump blood both to the lungs and to the rest of the body. In order to fix this issue, the newborn must go through a series of 3 surgeries 6 months apart. The first surgery has to occur within 5 days of birth or else the baby will not survive. Now that you have a little bit of a background, we as engineers here at Riddle are trying to improve the second surgery in the series to make it more efficient. Partnering with UCF and Dr. William DeCampli, we are creating a new cardiovascular flow loop to help achieve maximum flow from the heart to the body. Through computational fluid dynamic and analysis models and lots of hard work, we hope that this new method can save little newborns lives all around the world.

I personally love working on this project and working with the computations and complications of this project. It is tough going through the process and hearing more no’s then yes’s but that is what us engineers do. We solve problems and build the future. That is what it is all about. If I can make someone’s life better through problem solving and engineering, I am happy.

If you would like to know more about Biomechanical/medical engineering, contact Dr. Eduardo Divo in the Mechanical Engineering department.

My Life @ Riddle

Daytona Beach Edition

Category Archives: 2015 – 2016