ABOUT ME
Introduction
I'm Jesse Deppisch, an undergraduate student at the University of Houston, and I'm studying mechanical engineering. I'm currently in my junior year and I expect to graduate in December of 2020. I enjoy practical problem solving by combining my physical understanding of the world with my programming skills.
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My motivation for engineering
I've always been interested in how things work. Whether building with LEGOs, experimenting with snap circuits, or programming my first command-line calculator, I've been fascinated with understanding and manipulating the natural world.
In middle school, I was part of my local Science Magnet Program. As a result, I enjoyed more advanced science courses earlier than students usually learn that information. However, the program stipulated that all students had to do science fair every year. I dreaded science fair. I liked the idea, but I could never come up with a very exciting project. Additionally, I would always procrastinate on building the presentation board, which made me loathe the whole process.
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In 8th grade, for my last project, I wanted to come up with a good idea. I had just seen a YouTube video about a giant vortex cannon. This got me thinking - a couple of friends of mine had the AirZooka toy, and it looked simple enough to build, so I decided that would be my project. I excitedly drew up a basic design to build my own. I made 5 different cannons, varying the size of the hole to study the effect of outlet diameter on strength of the blast. I used a fog machine to make the vortex rings visible. I had so much fun creating the project that I didn't really mind making the presentation board, and I was very excited to tell people about my project. I ended up winning honorable mention for my efforts!
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Vortex rings are a complex fluid mechanics phenomenon, and even though I wasn't studying fluid mechanics at the time, I could appreciate the natural beauty of them. I was curious: how exactly do these things form, and why are they stable? Although I didn't know the answer then, this same sense of curiosity, "why things happen", drives me to study why machines work, and the more practically, how to create useful machines through engineering.
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Who I am
I enjoy thinking about why things work. Whenever I hear about some new phenomenon during a lecture, or see something curious firsthand, I always try to determine what is happening, and why. But I also enjoy practical problem solving. Figuring out why things happen is amazing, but mastery and application of that knowledge is necessary to improve quality of life, and to change the world.
When choosing my major, I was between mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer science. I chose mechanical engineering because it's the most broad discipline, and as a curious person, I have enjoyed the breadth of the scope in my coursework. However, this is not completely satisfying to me - I want to learn more! Since beginning college, I have since become more interested in unifying all of those fields in the form of robotics, which I could see myself exploring as a career, and perhaps pursue rigorously in graduate school. However, I'm also very interested in computer science, which is a very exciting field with useful theory.
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In my down time, I enjoy camping, hiking, and enjoying the great outdoors with my friends. Nature is amazing!
Me at the top of Emory Peak at Big Bend National Park