Valerie Sonnenberg
Engineering Design Portfolio
Valerie Sonnenberg
I’ve had the opportunity to work on a number of incredible projects that have allowed me to grow and further develop my engineering skill set. I hope you’ll enjoy viewing my projects as much as I enjoyed working on them.
About
I graduated from University of Colorado Boulder with a Bachelor's of Science in Engineering Plus (Mechanical Engineering) with a minor in Technology, Arts, and Media and a certificate in Engineering Leadership. Since graduation, I have worked with a variety of companies and teams on design projects from aerospace to medical, specializing in new product development and manufacturing.
Professional CV
Past Experience
Education
Bachelor of Science Degree: Engineering Plus (Mechanical Engineering)
Minor in Technology, Arts, and Media, certificate in Engineering Leadership
College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder
Technical Skills
SolidWorks: Associates Certification, CAD Engineer 3000+ hours
Human Centered Design: Iterative design process model 11 projects/1900+ hours
Good Manufacturing Practice: drawings, BOMs, test and build procedures 1500+ hours
Rapid Prototyping: 3D printing, laser cutting, pretotyping 800+ hours
Arduino: programming, circuitry design and building 300+ hours
Manufacturing: welding, CNC, woodworking, mills, lathes, etc. 500+ hours
Adobe Creative Cloud: Illustrator, Photoshop, Lightroom, InDesign, Premiere Pro 400+ hours
Microsoft Office Suite: Word, Excel, Powerpoint 5000+ hours
March 2022 - October 2022
Mechanical Engineer : Genalyte Inc.
Successfully completed all stages of product development for two full iterations of the Merlin machine, achieving automated blood testing functionality inside a marketable enclosure.
Created documentation including 3D models using SolidWorks, manufacturing drawings, assembly procedures, bill of materials, and other documentation for FDA submission
May 2021 - March 2022
Mechanical Engineer 1 : Becton Dickinson
Designed fixturing for ergonomic manufacturing of medical IV sets including cap, luer, and tubing junctions
Conducted research and development activities for the BD Epidural and PCA IV sets for FDA remediation
Manufactured and tested samples for informed decisions on components and new processes of manufacturing
Tested assembly and assembly instruments for inefficiencies
June 2020 - October 2020
Mechanical Engineer 1 : Space Lab Technologies
Manufactured a rocket payload to test effects of microgravity on thin-film hydroponics
Designed components using SolidWorks for research and development of space agriculture
Gained hands-on experience with space flight hardware manufacturing and analysis
Conducted research on robust materials for extraterrestrial colony development
February 2019 - May 2020
Manufacturing Engineer / Senior Design Team Member : Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Manufactured prototype of a planetary sample-handling mechanism for future missions to icy moons using SolidWorks to model large complex assemblies
Achieved manufacturing readiness within design constraints and organized team for successful build of 500+ component prototype
Integrated mechatronics with space exploration hardware under extreme environmental constraints
Summer 2018, Summer 2019
Engineering Intern : Dynamic Designs and Manufacturing
Drafted component drawings under manufacturing constraints for customer facing products using SolidWorks
Assisted in designing various sheet metal and metal manufacturing parts for clients
Designed proprietary inventions and created CAD models and prototypes to increase company-based income
2018
Engineering Team Lead : Comfort My People Global
Designed house-to-house water catchment system based on research and community outreach
Installed two systems in Rwanda for proof of concept after initial design testing in the US
Organized and collaborated with locals to build systems for repeatability
Post-Graduate Positions
Below is a summary of each of my positions after graduation. Non-disclosure agreements have barred me from sharing the exact work I was doing at each company, but here is an abridged version.
Genalyte : Merlin 2.0
Merlin is a fully automated, on site testing solution for health systems, physicians offices, and retail clinics. It is the size of a refrigerator and is a self-contained, temperature controlled lab. Patient samples are run onsite with results in 30 minutes. I worked on development of Merlin 2.0's waste systems.
Becton Dickinson : Jupiter (Epidural Sets)
Jupiter is a FDA remediation project. Epidural IV sets have yellow-striped tubing and specialized luers to avoid connecting to a non-epidural IV. BD's epidural yellow-stripe tubing was leaking and there was a recall. I was working on re-developing the tubing, as well as creating a more efficient manufacturing line by designing, prototyping, testing and qualifying new manufacturing fixtures for specialized Epidural IVs.
Space Lab Technologies : LilyPond
LilyPond is an autonomous, environmentally controlled floating plant cultivation system for use in microgravity on long term space missions. μG-LilyPond™ utilizes passive thin film capillary force in the growth bed for biomass propagation and stability. The plant growth chamber design is versatile allowing growth of several plant types, not just aquatic plants. Essentially, μG-LilyPond™ acts as a thin film hydroponic system in microgravity. The primary aquatic crop of study is duckweed.
2019 projects
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2018 projects
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Water Catchment System
Engineering Projects For the Community
For Sophmore Projects, we worked with Comfort My People, a nonprofit based out of Rwanda, to create house-to-house water catchment systems. Our final deliverable was a manual on how to build and maintain the system in-country. To learn more, go to:
Dual monitors
CAD final project
The final for my SolidWorks class was to reverse engineer something in your life and create a modification to make it better. I chose my dual monitor system and to create an adjustable angle bracket to hold them in place. To see a few animations of the final product, download:
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2016-2017 Projects
Aquaponics Bay
Ethiopia and Kenya
During the summer of 2017, I traveled for 3 weeks to Kenya and Ethiopia working on malnourishment. The solution to one of the problems we found was an aquaponics bay, built to be 95% water retention farming. In high drought or urban areas, this would be a crucial development in the sustainability of food and income. We designed and built an aquaponics bay out of local materials with help from local welders and handymen in a school created by Fields of Hope (a nonprofit partnered with Invictus Initiative).
Water filtration
Nicaragua
In November 2017, I traveled to Nicaragua with The Invictus Initiative. While there, we identified a need for water filtration in many of the villages we visited as there is naturally occuring arsenic in the groundwater. We designed a water system built from local materials and with the help of local handymen, created several prototypes that are being tested by the people on-site. There is a return trip planned in which we will see how our prototypes are working and distribute more filters.
Refrigerator
Thermodynamics
For Thermodynamics, we were tasked with building a device to model a thermodynamic cycle or process. We chose to build a refrigerator using a turbine and compressed air to demonstrate a Rankine cycle. During this project, I learned how to weld, use gauges, mills and lathes, and obviously about thermodynamic cycles. Another skill I learned during this process was taking and analyzing data in a meaningful way.
Rumbletop
Freshman Design Final Project
For our final project in Freshman Design, we decided to build a "tabletop roomba". The final product spritzed water and mopped up spills while having the capability to stay on the table at all times, due to switch triggers that stopped and rotated it when they went off the edge of the table. During this project, we learned how to prototype, redesign, and overcome obstacles in real time.
T-Rex
Freshman Design Introduction
For our first project at CU, we were required to build a vehicle to move a marshmallow into a specified box. Of course, I designed a T-Rex. This was my first exposure to CAD modeling and Arduino, and allowed for creativity while learning new skills necessary to be an effective engineer.
TAM Courses
Get in Touch
Interested in learning more about me, my work or how we can collaborate in the future? Feel free to reach out anytime, I would be more than happy to hear from you.
(970) 231-5845