Portfolio | Brady Pfeiffer

About Me

Career Interests:
Manufacturing (especially metals)
Aerospace and Defense
Outreach
Research (especially physics)

Summary of Projects

 * Most important or special to me

 Project Descriptions

Extracurricular

SAR Thermography

A Lane County mountain rescue team used thermal imaging in a search and rescue (SAR) operation for my cousin Joel. This intrigued me, and I decided to get a FLIR thermal camera to learn more about it. This eventually led to a personal research project on thermal imaging in search and rescue applications. The research involved detecting how different environmental conditions impact the thermal emissivity of skin, and thermal contrast in imaging. It was challenging and exciting to develop the infrared apparatus used in the research. I am working toward getting published in the American Journal of Physics. With this project, deeply connected to a significant family event, I hope to make a small yet meaningful impact in the SAR field.

Engineering Ambassador

I joined the Engineering Ambassadors at George Fox after my freshman year, and I have been actively involved in engineering outreach within the local community. I started with assisting at our Maker Camps, and I have volunteered at various other events. Being an ambassador allows me to collaborate with fellow engineering students on educational projects, enhancing my understanding of engineering concepts through teaching. Being an ambassador has helped foster a sense of community among students and faculty, driven by a shared passion for engineering and education.

Leathercraft

In 2020, when COVID prompted my school to transition to online learning, I found myself with extra free time. Fascinated by a video I watched on leatherwork, I chose to explore the craft. I invested in some tools and began experimenting, eventually launching a successful small business, North of Zion. I manage operations including sales, customer support, shipping, and website development. This has fueled my creative passion and provided me with professional and entrepreneurial skills. Check out this article about the story behind North of Zion!

Machining and Metalsmithing

I started working at George Fox University's machine shop my sophomore year, and I have enjoyed training and working with students and faculty on projects. I have sought out extra training on both manual and CNC machines, and I spend more time learning about metalworking than I probably should. A fun personal project was machining a brass coordinate frame for my Machine Dynamics & Vibrations course, a tool I used for visualizing 3D space during exams. For fun I also decided to calculate the composite inertia of the body. Additionally, I explored metalsmithing through a workshop at a local studio. It was fun to discover metallurgical principles like annealing, soldering, and work hardening in a tactile way.

Curricular

NERF Beyond Barriers

Junior engineering students at George Fox take a project based course called Servant Engineering. Students are placed into teams of 5 with a faculty advisor. My team is working on designing adaptive nerf guns for two clients (11 and 14) who have no arms. The clients are my cousins, and it has been motivating to work on a project that impacts their lives. We have been working on the project for one semester, and have our first version working, ready to be iterated and improved upon during the second semester of the course. One of my favorite parts of the project is getting to learn how to work well with a team of engineers.

Ice Maker

The Ice Maker project was a group research and design project done in my Thermodynamics course. This project report outlines the design of a refrigeration system for transportation of HIV and AIDS medication in Nigeria. Lack of access to refrigeration heavily impacts antiretroviral therapy efficacy and access in rural poor and slum dweller populations in Nigeria. Akwa Ibom, an epicenter of the HIV epidemic in southern Nigeria, has many hard-to-reach areas. In these areas, implementation of reliable and cost-effective refrigeration has the potential to improve treatment retention and quality of life for many. The report demonstrates, based on qualitative and quantitative factors, an optimal refrigeration system for this use case.

Oscillating Air Engine

At George Fox, freshman engineering students are tasked with designing and machining an oscillating air engine. Without experience on projects like this, students must discover how the "wobbler" engine works, then solid model and machine their own. The engines are then pitted against each other in the Wobble Off! I entered the coast competition, and designed my engine with a clutch mechanism to disconnect the piston assembly once air was cut. My engine was the first to be completed and running in my year.

Floating Wind Turbine

The floating wind turbine project was a group project in my Machine Dynamics & Vibrations course. This report contains a description of our methods for optimizing the dimensions of an offshore floating windmill, as well as solving and simulating its motion in response to several different forces. Our team designed the base for a floating offshore wind turbine, allowing electricity generation in deep waters where fixed-foundations are unfeasible. The base consists of three cylindrical buoys, which support the turbine's weight. We were tasked with keeping the turbine within certain stability parameters while minimizing the area of the base. We analyzed the dynamics of the turbine through numerical simulation in MATLAB.

Professional

Holman Research

My research was conducted with George Fox University professor of physics Bob Hamilton. While I was taking one of his courses, Dr. Hamilton reached out and asked if I would be interested in conducting research with him. Together we applied to receive funding from a university sponsored grant. Our general research area, space physics, is of growing interest to industry due to increased commercial investment in orbital infrastructure and a renewed focus on space exploration. This was an amazing opportunity to learn things that made my head spin and gain research experience while getting to connect with a welcoming professor. Learn more here.

Manufacturing Activities

I was invited by my professor Chris Sharp to assist in improving his manufacturing course, and my work ended up restructuring it completely. The revamped curriculum included weekly hands-on activities in the university maker space, allowing students to learn and apply various manufacturing processes. It was a difficult and rewarding process to ideate and validate each activity. A highlight was designing a carbon fiber layup activity, teaching students about composites and processing different composite parts with water jet cutting. Additionally, I created an automation activity using a FANUC LR Mate robot, challenging students to develop automated processes. This experience in curriculum development was incredibly formative.

Sheet Metal Shear

At George Fox's Maker Hub, I became the volunteer 'Ace' for the sheet metal shears, responsible for mastering and teaching its use. This role enabled me to learn about sheet metal properties and safe handling of large equipment. It also provided me with the chance to assist others in creating really cool projects with the shears, fueling my interest in sheet metal work. This led me to explore and train on other tools like the bending brake and metal laser cutter. A fun project I created was a sheet metal rose, cut on the laser and formed with hand tools.