Camerin Seigars
Advisors
Dr. Roberto Lopez-Anido & Dr. William Davids
Education
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering- University of Maine, 2016
M.S. in Mechanical Engineering- University of Maine, 2019
Bio & Research Interests
I am originally from Gardiner, Maine, where I graduated high school and decided to attend college at the University of Maine (UMaine) in order to remain close to my family. When coming to college, I was not exactly sure what I wanted to do; it is a big decision to decide the degree that will help form the path for the rest of your life. When I was in high school, I was interested in all subjects but always enjoyed building things, working on machines, and solving problems, so I decided to attend University for Mechanical Engineering while also being enrolled in the Honors program.
While attending University, I quickly became interested in a variety of activities ranging from my studies in engineering and honors, to singing Tenor II in the Black Bear Men’s Choir, to being a member and later President of the UMaine Society of Automotive Engineers Clean Snowmobile Club. At the close of my junior year, I became a Systems Engineering Intern for General Dynamics at Bath Iron Works; there I worked on the DDG 51 Arleigh Burke-Class guided missile for U.S. Navy Destroyers. For my senior year, in order to complete both my engineering degree and the Honors program, I had to complete two senior projects: my capstone project and Honors thesis. For my capstone project in engineering, I worked with vehicle dynamics of the UMaine compressed natural-gas powered clean snowmobile. For my Honors thesis, I studied and modeled the dynamics of a continuously variable transmission, which is often used as a transmission on snowmobiles; however, it is becoming more popular in the automotive industry for economy-sized cars with relatively low-displacement four-cylinder engines.
During my senior year of University, in addition to my two senior-projects, I took two classes that really drove my desire to further my education at the Advanced Structures and Composites Center here at UMaine. With this fueled desire to continue my education, I interviewed with my Advisor and accepted a job at the Center as a Graduate Research Assistant.
The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) funds my research. My primary focus is using thermoplastic composites to reinforce concrete beams or decking. There are several advantages to using thermoplastic composites over traditional thermoset composites, such as being able to recycle the material, weld-ability through various methods, and rapid fabrication through use of automated equipment.
My research involves use of fabricating composites through two general methods: traditional vacuum infusion and heated consolidation. Vacuum infusion is a time-consuming manufacturing process that is easily scalable to larger structures. Heated consolidation can be done using a traditional hydraulic press with heated platens or through use of the Alfond Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory for Structural Thermoplastics IR-oven and hydraulic press.
In addition, my research includes the development of a mechanical shear connection to be used to create composite action between the thermoplastic reinforcement and the concrete beam or deck. This connection is being designed to be completely mechanical with no need for additional bonding or processing.
Memberships, Honors, Awards
- Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts of America Troop 672
- Graduated with High Honors with B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 2016
- Director’s Award, Outstanding Graduate Student, Advanced Structures and Composites Center, 2017
- Member of the Francis Crowe Society
