Matthew L.

Major/Minor

Junior, BS in Mechanical Engineering; BS in Physics

Completed Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP) at the Bar Harbor, Maine Project Center.

An IQP is often called life-changing by WPI students, requiring teams to delve into a problem that matters to real people.

Project

Matthew's team, made up of six students with majors ranging from mechanical engineering to interactive media and game development, worked together to assess the feasibility of Bar Harbor becoming an International Dark Sky Community (IDSC). He and his team compared the ordinances of the town to the mandatory requirements for an IDSC, created a map of businesses that were dark-sky friendly, and gathered information on the current status of the night sky, allowing future teams to help work with the town to continue the process of making Bar Harbor an IDSC.

Reflection

For Matthew, the most valuable part of his IQP experience was having the opportunity to present the information he and his team gathered in a way that made it imperative for the town of Bar Harbor to act. Thinking through and determining answers for the different reactions they could have received made the experience eye-opening and invaluable.

Hometown

Colchester, CT

Major/Minor

BS in Mechanical Engineering, BS in Physics

Project Advisor(s)

Frederick Bianchi

Project Sponsor

Acadia National Park

Achievements

Improving grades as a result of hard work in writing classes.
Playing rugby during my sophomore year.

Aspirations

Spending a few years working for a reputable company while also completing some personal projects.
Creating a patent portfolio before selling the patents and working full-time as an inventor.
Opening my own company, automating it, and living off the royalties of my inventions.

More about Matthew’s Project

More about the Bar Harbor Immersion