Imagine knowing exactly how to advance your research, but being stuck because you can’t fabricate the precise parts you need. That’s been my reality. My name is Tyler, and I’m a Navy veteran, a new father to a beautiful 19-week-old daughter, and a mechanical engineering PhD student researching micro/nanofluidics with high spatiotemporal accuracy optical measurement systems while working full time in the field electrophysiology. I recently lost critical funding when our NIH grant was defunded, but I refuse to give up on my project — or on finding new ways to keep moving forward.
I’m raising funds to build a home fabrication laboratory where I can create the custom components essential for improving the accuracy, usability, and reproducibility of my experiments. This fab lab won’t just help me complete my PhD: it will let me share my journey, designs, and discoveries with others who can learn from them, multiplying the impact of your support. With your help, I can transform setbacks into breakthroughs — and turn a small workspace into a powerful engine for innovation for my family, my research, and the broader community.
Specifically, funds will be used for:
- Soldering equipment and soldering station (for making custom power supplies and optics control circuitry)
- FDM 3D printer (for making mounts and fixtures rather than purchasing expensive premade components)
- Rotary tool (for fixture and capital equipment modification)
- Lab consumables (fluorescent dyes, capillary tubes, light blocking supplies, etc.)
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