Jacob McKenzie
Jake was born in San Rafael, California, just north of San Francisco. He grew up in both the San Francisco bay area and Negril, Jamaica. There are few limits to the devices Jake is willing to disassemble, especially if he suspects they may teach him something new. He enjoys working on cars, bicycles, audio amplifiers, speakers, programming, machining and drafting.
Research
I am currently working on a project for the engines and fuels research consortium to build a quantitative understanding of the effects of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) on knock and combustion in direct injected, spark ignition (DISI) engines. After the effects of mixture dilution and changes in charge chemistry on engine operation are identified a unified EGR strategy may be suggested to improve performance, fuel efficiency and emissions.
Education
- 2012 MS in Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Thesis: Design of Robotic Quadruped Legs
- Advisor: Sangbae Kim
- 2009 BS in Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
Research/Experience
- Biomimetic Robotics Lab: Graduate Researcher
- Design and fabrication of legs for a high speed quadruped robot
- Berkeley Manufacturing Institute: Undergraduate Research Assistant
- Design and prototype fabrication of wearable embedded computer with heads-up display, RF localization and communications interface for urban fire fighters
- Make Magazine: Engineering Intern
- Fabricated and documented project submissions for publication, technical proofing of do-it-yourself guides and articles