Noah Shephard

Experience

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  MSU STARX Team

  Sept 2019 - Jan 2023

  Design & Fabrication Team Member

  STARX (STrength Augmenting Robotic eXoskeleton) is a club that makes exoskeletons to help strengthen people's ability to walk. The suit is tested in an obstacle course and strength performance competition with other schools. The team consists of cross disciplinary collaboration between the mechanical, electrical, ergonomic, and business teams. I did not just learn about mechanical design and fabrication but also about planning ahead for wiring and future attachments, choosing more comfortable and user safe mounts with quick release straps, fundraising and the limitations with our budget. Some projects I undertook in the design sub team involved 3D printing protective plating, redesigning boot harnesses, and optimizing the full suit assembly. While taking a more active role in the fabrication sub team, I learned how to read blueprints and use the mill and lathe to make parts within the required tolerances for the upcoming competition. Show less

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  Dow Gardens

  May 2020 - Sept 2021

  Groundskeeper

  Seasonal job during the summer where I did manual labor in order to maintain a public garden. My responsibilities included weeding, edging, trimming, planting, mowing, weed whacking, leaf blowing, and operating a Toro vehicle. I enjoyed interacting with visitors and giving them a positive experience by helping them with directions or questions about the gardens.

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  Michigan State University

  Sept 2021 - Aug 2023

  Undergraduate Research Assistant

  As part of Professor Zhaojian Li's research team on soft arm robotics at Michigan State University, I would assist his Ph.D. student Preston Fairchild. My task was to use 3D modeling to design parts that I then manufactured with a thermal injection 3D printer. From there I co-designed and printed a PLA mold to cast a soft arm prototype, using silicone resin (Dragon Skin 20). The robot is controlled with three pneumatic chambers and a central stiffness tunning device. Once the soft robot was built, my work shifted towards coding and wiring electrical circuits, to create a larger pneumatic control board for multiple soft arm segments. Next, I assisted in collecting data on various positions under different pressures and stiffnesses using a motion capture camera system. Finally, I am proud to be a co-author on a paper for the 2023 Modeling, Estimation, and Control Conference showcasing our methods and results. Ultimately the purpose of our soft arm robotics research is to gain insight on how to operate with a high level of safety and mobility while assisting users. Show less

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  LyondellBasell

  May 2022 - Apr 2023

  Laboratory Technician

  LyondellBasell site produces specific polypropylene compounds for customers in automotive and other industries. In this Co-op position my role was to assist in the fabrication, molding and physical testing of polypropylene compounds. I was trained to manage raw material inventory and had to weigh up different additives to form new sample compounds. Next, I would then run these compounds through a single screw extrusion compounding machine to create plastic pellets. Using an injection molding machine, I then fabricated the pellets into dog bars, tiger stripes, and plates that I would then run physical property tests on. Following ASTM and IATF standards, these tests ranged from tensile break, hardness, melt flow, flammability, shrink, etc. These sample property results would then get sent back to the engineers at the site where I would get to hear their input on the results and their methods for obtaining different types of polypropylene compounds. Show less

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  Boston University

  Sept 2023 - May 2024

  As part of a medical device design team at Boston University, I have observed over 50 hours of orthopedic surgeries at Boston Medical Center. I then identified problem and needs statements from observations and surgeon stakeholder interviews. Our team identified the need to reduce the risk of vertebral non-union in cervical spine fusions from postoperative patient non-compliance. Therefore we proposed a spinal fusion implant with embedded load sensors to alert patients/doctors of overexerting activity, in order to take corrective action during recovery. For this project I developed prototypes, test methods, V&V, DFMEA, 510K strategy, and a commercialization plan for our device. Show less

  • Lab Safety Coordinator

    Sept 2023 - May 2024

  • Orthopedic Team Member

    Sept 2023 - May 2024
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  Globus Medical

  Aug 2024 - now

  Associate Project Engineer, Posterior IBF