Kira Louise Barton - Background 

Education

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign – Expected Graduation Aug 2009 - Cumulative GPA: 3.88

• Ph.D. candidate  in Mechanical Engineering
• Specializing in Control Systems under the advising of Dr. Andrew Alleyne
• My research project consists of the development and analysis of advanced algorithms for precision motion control. This includes looking at methods for controlling position tracking at the micro and nano-scale.

 

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign – Graduation Dec 2006 - Cumulative GPA: 3.88

• M.S.  in Mechanical Engineering
• Specializing in Control Systems under the advising of Dr. Andrew Alleyne
• My research project consisted of creating an improved control design for contouring applications in manufacturing systems. The proposed method applies the knowledge of Iterative Learning Control to a traditional Cross-Coupled Control signal to produce a Cross-Coupled Iterative Learning Feedforward Control (CCILC) system. This research included analysis of the new control design, model simulations, experimental implementation and presentation of material through conferences and publications.

 

University of Colorado, Boulder – Graduated 2001 – Cumulative GPA: 3.88

• BS in Mechanical Engineering, December, 2001
• Graduated with Distinction
• Outstanding Mechanical Engineering Graduate

Graduate Courses

• Industrial Control Systems, Mathematical Methods I, Control System Theory and Design, Introduction to Mechatronics, Nanotechnology Seminar, Multivariable Control Design, Statistics and Probability I, Bio-Engineering Seminar, Lab Safety Fundamentals, Manufacturing at the Nanoscale, Nonlinear and Adaptive Control, Kinematics and Dynamics of Mechanical Systems, Robot Dynamics and Control, Analysis of Nonlinear Systems

Computer Skills

• Design - MATLAB, Simulink; Languages/Tools - BASIC, C, HTML Editors; Operating Systems - Macintosh, Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP; Software Packages - Adobe Illustrator, AutoCAD, VISIO

Honors, Awards and Scholarships

Academic Honors and Awards

·         Dean’s List: ’97, ’98, ‘99’, ’00, ’01.

·         Winner Design Exposition People’s Choice Award: Fall ’98, ’00.

·         Outstanding Mechanical Engineering Graduate: Fall ’01.

 

Merit and Need Based Academic Scholarships

·         Merit Sch. Fall ’97 – Spring ’98; Dean’s Honor’s Engineering Sch. Fall ’97 – Spring ’98, Fall ’98 – Spring ’99; Daniel Schmidt Sch. Fall ’98 – Spring  ’99; Milwaukee Fndtn. Wilbur & Mildred Petri Sch. Fall ’99 – Spring ’00; University of Colorado SAS Sch. Spring ’00; Ian Gini Sch. Spring ’00; Schuman Sch Fall ’00 – Spring ’01; Stanely Cooke Engineering Sch. Fall ’00 – Spring ’01; Chevron Corporation Sch. Fall ’01.

·        Graduate Fellowship - Fall 2006 - Spring 2007.

Memberships

·         Leader of Nano-CEMMS Grad Group, Gold Key Honor’s Society, Mechanical Engineering Honor’s Society, Society of Women in Engineering, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, University of Colorado Engineering Ambassadors, Tau Beta Pi.

Work Experience

Professional:

July 2003 - Aug 2005 – Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) – Engineer I

·         Worked with engineers and biologists on marine mammal research projects.

·         Lab responsibilities: design strategies, computer aided drawing, tolerance specification, material selection, machining.

·         Fieldwork responsibilities: preliminary research planning, field logistics, designing and fabricating the tools to collect that data, data collection, analyzing the data.

·         Supervisor:  Dr. Mark Johnson

 

May 2002 – July 2003 – British Petroleum, Alaska (bp) – Production Engineer

·         Designed, wrote, and implemented well work programs on the North Slope.

·         Maintained well integrity: managed pressure data, wrote/issued/canceled well performance waivers, worked with state officials on compliance issues.

·         Won recognition for my performance on well integrity and maintenance during the fall of 2002.

·         Supervisor:  Steve Rossberg

 

Summers 2000, 2001 – British Petroleum, Alaska (bp) – Summer Internship

·         Researched and analyzed methods of optimizing the gas turbines on the North Slope of Alaska to minimize the amount of CO₂ emitted.

·         Created an automated computer program to monitor and optimize the amount of gas lift necessary to overcome the hydrostatic pressures within a well.

·         Supervisors:  Gordon Schmidt (2000), Gil Beuhler (2001)

Academic: 

August 2001 to December 2001 – University of Colorado – Teaching Assistantship

·         Teaching assistant for GEEN 1300 – Introduction to Engineering Computing. 

·         I was responsible for a lab session containing approximately 25 students. 

·       Responsibilities: designing, writing and implementing weekly labs, grading those labs and subsequent exams, presenting material to the students to supplement the lecture material, and holding weekly office hours.

·        Supervisor:  Prof John Dow

 

August 2000 to December 2000 – University of Colorado – Teaching Assistantship

·         Teaching assistant for Civil and Environmental Engineering 3111 – Vector Mechanics II/Dynamics.

·         Responsibilities: proctoring and grading exams, grading homework, and maintaining weekly office hours.

·         Supervisor:  Prof John Dow

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