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Project Leader - IKA Works, San Diego, CA, USA
Nov 2016 - Aug 2019 |
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IKA is a Germany-based world leader in laboratory, analytical, and processing equipment and technology.
Our primary work focused on the development of the ElectraSyn 2.0 and accessories line, a first-of-its-kind device for organic chemists to perform electrochemical synthesis (in particular, generation of organic molecules using electricity as a in lieu of a catalyst). It combines a potentiostat/galvanostat, an analytical instrument, and a stirring plate. This project was developed in collaboration with Professor Phil Baran and his team from the Scripps Research Institute. |
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- I developed the
IKA e-Hive, the GOGO Module, the entire electrode series (20+ different
elements), and the stirring plate. My main work involved design, which I
did with Autodesk Inventor; and prototyping, where I used a Stratasys
FDM 3D printer. I was in charge of the project from conception to release, which required interacting with Industrial Design, Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain, Marketing, and Sales.
- I have been in charge of the Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) feature of the device; it is the second pillar of the product. This is an analytical function that measures the redox peaks of a compound of interest by applying a voltage linearly and measuring the current flow through the electrode. I used Python to lay out the code architecture of the filters for data handling and supervised the senior electronics engineer to implement the code into the device on embedded-C. As the technical point of contact for CV related questions, I interacted on a frequent basis with our applications support team to provide solutions to customers queries. An additional electrochemistry project we developed is the IKA Screening System. This is a platform for electrochemical screening developed in collaboration with Professor Sigi Waldvogel from the University of Mainz. - I was the project leader for this product line. This project was based on our Headquarters in Staufen, Germany. During development I prepared technical drawings and organized material for assembly and quality analysis. |
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Awards
Achema Innovation Award 2018 for ElectraSyn 2.0 (company award) Red Dot Award for ElectraSyn 2.0 (company award) |
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Acknowledgements
Yan, M; Kawamata, Y; Baran, P. S. Synthetic Organic Electrochemistry: Calling All Engineers. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, 57, pp. 4149 - 4155. [Link] (personal acknowledgement) #Electrochemistry #Project management #Prototyping #CAD #German #Manufacturing |
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