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Maddyson Jeske named 2020-2021 Bruce Liebert Award winner

This semester, Maddyson Jeske was selected as the recipient of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Department of Mechanical Engineering Prof. Bruce Liebert Award.

In recognition of Dr. Liebert’s past contributions to materials education at the University of Hawai‘i, the award is to be given to students who demonstrate contributions of materials science and engineering to their projects and work as undergraduates at UH. Awardees must be graduating seniors with a GPA of 3.0 or greater, who are also admitted to graduate school at the UH College of Engineering (PhD, MS, or BS/MS). Established just last semester based on funds raised or donated by retired professor of Mechanical Engineering Dr. Bruce Liebert, recipients are also given a $1000 award.

During her undergraduate studies, Jeske led an underwater docking station (UDS) project for the Robot Autonomy and Navigation laboratory. This UDS was designed to be a fully functioning system that provides a wireless charging pad and an optical communication data transfer point for a resident autonomous underwater vehicle. In the summer of 2021, the station will be tested for long term deployment at the Kilo Nalu Observatory.

Through her internship experience with Makai Ocean Engineering, Jeske was exposed to the problem of corrosion and biofouling for submersible systems in seawater environments. She learned about industry solutions for this issue, such as the use of sacrificial zinc anodes on critical structural points to identify and verify the long term deployment duration of the system. Following the completion of her undergraduate degree, Jeske plans to continue developing, building, and testing this system. Jeske’s research “will continue to depend on the understanding of the long-term impact of the ocean environment on materials and submersible systems.”

Jeske is very honored and grateful to be this semester’s recipient of the Prof. Bruce Liebert Award: “It has been a wonderful opportunity to express my interest and experience in materials engineering and show how I have been able to apply my knowledge in the design and development of the underwater docking station.”

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