I’ve been scuba diving since 2013 and have been fortunate enough to dive all over the world. Some highlights include Madagascar, Fiji, New Caledonia, Bonaire, Malta, Belize, Cozumel, Riviera Maya, and Thailand. I am especially delighted by coral, turtles, octopi, ship wrecks, and how light travels underwater. Below are some of my favorite shots.
Much of my work has been conducted under Non-Disclosure Agreements, but below are some of my selected works.
Three Economic Vectors to Expand Digital Access in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Writing sample from Dec 2019 from my MA in International Security Studies for a class on the Politics of Sub-Saharan Africa. I wrote this term paper as a recommendation on three ways that the Democratic Republic of the Congo can increase digital access: by liberalizing the requisite infrastructural sectors to encourage foreign investment, by reducing excessive taxes on mobile phones, and by supporting business-friendly policies that reduce consumers’ recurring costs. This demonstrates my skills in writing, research skills in the social sciences, and interdisciplinary thinking.
Virtual Oscillator Controlled (VOC) Inverters in a Microgrid Setting with Secondary Control and Energy Storage
This is my MS Thesis in Electrical Engineering from UC Santa Barbara.
Personal contributions:
– Design, analyze, and simulate a standalone inverter-based microgrid composed of variable renewable energy sources and battery storage
– VOC for inverters relies on local voltage and frequency measurements to allow for proportional loading and voltage/frequency synchronization, presenting a real-time decentralized control strategy that mimics droop control characteristics
– Operate inverters in a variety of complex settings: in parallel, under fluctuating loads, and under noisy loads
– Adapt, derive, and simulate low-bandwidth communication in the form distributed averaging proportional integral (DAPI) control for a VOC-based microgrid
– Incorporate battery models representing distributed Energy Storage Systems (ESS) to demonstrate grid robustness in times of excess load relative to generation available
Examination of Energy Access as a Human Right in Service of Gender Equity
Writing sample from Dec 2019 from my MA in International Security Studies for a class on the Concepts of Human Rights. This paper explored whether or not improved energy access should qualify as a human right, focusing specifically on accepted human rights, legally-binding conventions regarding women’s rights. Energy access is critical in achieving equitable health outcomes for 2.7 billion people using biomass to cook, which exposes them to deadly indoor air pollution; in avoiding potential sexual assaults for women when collecting fuel; and in offering women fair economic opportunities by reducing unpaid labor and expanding potential income-generating activities. The paper also discusses the core of value of human rights, versus development goals, and addresses arguments as to why energy access should not be considered a human right.
Role of Cyber-Attacks in the Security Dynamic on the Korean Peninsula
Writing sample from Dec 2019 from my MA in International Security Studies for a class on the Politics of Cyber Security. This paper explores how North Korea has developed its cyber attack capacity to engage in savvy brinkmanship, primarily against South Korea. Cyber attacks have the potential to be devastating to their victims, but attribution challenges and South Korea’s reticence to overreact against its volatile neighbor have rendered offensive digital tactics very attractive to North Korea. This essay discusses the logic that incentivizes North Korea’s behavior and the (limited) responses that South Korea can adopt.
Recommendations for the US Government Regarding US Troops in Japan
Writing sample from Dec 2019 from my MA in International Security Studies. As a term paper for a class in the International Relations of East Asia, I explored the evolution of security considerations for US troops in Japan under the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations. I concluded that two major concerns dominate modern American national security interests regarding its troops in Japan: maintaining forward deployment in a geopolitically sensitive region and upholding tight relations with Japan as a counterweight to Chinese expansion. With these elements in mind, I offered recommendations to the Biden administration. (Update: still waiting on feedback from Joe.)
The Casamance Conflict in Senegal: A Prototypical Civil War of Atypical Irresolution
Writing sample from Dec 2019 from my MA in International Security Studies. For a class on the Dynamics of Civil Wars, I profiled a conflict that has been broiling in Senegal for forty years and examined how its lack of resolution neatly substantiates civil war research, particularly regarding the lack of concerted intervention to resolve the issue. This paper was especially interesting to write because of a relative lack of published information in English, which required me to leverage my research skills and ability to read French.
I have filed over 50 patents, with 25+ granted (at time of writing). The topics range from hardware inputs for digital systems to novel machine learning process architectures to mechanisms for adapting audio signals into haptic information.