About Me
My name is Ethan Fredheim and I am a Mechanical Engineering student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. I originally became interested in mechanical engineering during a high school project exploring potential career fields. I have always been interested in materials science and more specifically, creating various forms of protective clothing and equipment for extreme environments and situations. In my research, I found that many jobs in that specific field most commonly require a degree in mechanical engineering. I have been happy to work in my classes for the past two year, slowly making my way to the areas that really interest me. Just this year I have been excited to start really digging into materials from my manufacturing and solids classes.
In my first two years at the school I have been able to delve deeper into what engineering entails and what sort of major contributions it has made to pushing humanity forward. Take for example some of the greatest life enhancing designs from the past 150 years that we interact with on a daily basis. Computer storage, a route of recalling any and all day to day documents that can log decades of work, and can be recalled instantaneously with precision marked by key words or date. The electrical grid which fuels out home and places of work, creating a controlled environment and light in the darkness of night. Telecommunications, allowing for communication across the globe in the span of seconds. The list goes on, but the principle remains the same. Engineering has opened the door for amazing systems and networks that have revolutionized and radically changed how people live day to day.
One of the most important lessons I have learned focuses on incremental growth. The examples above did not happen overnight, they were built on centuries of infrastructure and technology buildup. Small time improvements and support created by unnamed individuals through history open the door for bigger solutions. With that in mind, I have begun planning what sort of problem I would like to tackle first in my Sophomore Design course, MEGR 2156. Combining my interest in materials and personal protective equipment, I am interested in designing better head and neck protection from sudden and intense impacts. The general idea is to create better (and comfortable) protective clothing to decrease the severity of accidents for anyone who is doing a high speed activity that requires a helmet, such as motorcycling or racing.
While this is just one goal, it may be important to also look into more relevant personal protective equipment of this time. I am referring specifically to disposable surgical masks. People all over the world have become very familiar with masks in the past few months, but it is easy to skip over the simplicity and genius of the design. According to Google Patents, the one I currently use was invented by Terry M. Haber and Romeo Lemarie. The mask is shaped in several overlapping layers of antibacterial cloth made to add redundant layers of protection for each breath you take. The ear loops are just a comfortable, cotton covered elastic that function as a one size fits all. Lastly, the nose piece is a thin metal wire that can shape around the bridge of your nose and for a decent seal. While the mask itself is pretty malleable, it is important to wear it without crumpling or stretching it too much, otherwise it hampers its effectiveness. In much the same way, The material is important for the best protection. Cloth masks do not do a lot, especially the common polyester mask, due to a lack of layering material. Additionally, most cloth masks do not use the same antibacterial material that surgical masks employ.
While disposable masks are cheap and effective, they aren;t the only option for ppe. As mentioned earlier, there are many different masks out there that have varying properties and uses. Even getting away from masks, face shields provide a different avenue that help protect the wearer from others as opposed to masks which work in the opposite direction. In the end, engineering stretches far and wide in application, and it is for that reason I am excited to continue my journey through the program. The road is difficult, getting the bare bones creation of this website and the 'about me' took me some four hours. That being said, as I reach each short term goal I am rewarded with a glimpse of what the finish line entails. That spark is what keeps pushing me forward.
Below are some pictures of the mask mentioned.
