My Journey I'm excited by new knowledge and new experiences.
I was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico to a long line of engineers and innovators. Some of my earliest introductions to engineering included “Take Your Kid to Work” days at Sandia National Laboratories where my dad worked. I’ve always been fascinated by technology, so it was natural for me to pursue a career in mechanical engineering.
I’m also an avid, lifelong reader who’s particularly interested in history, economics and classical literature. Before starting my undergraduate degree, I realized I wanted a broad engineering experience which led me to a liberal arts education at Calvin University. My Calvin education encouraged me to approach problems with a critical, multifaceted framework. These lessons were truly invaluable and left me with a desire to constantly search for unique perspectives.
Throughout my Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota, I’ve been motivated to challenge my approach and thinking in order to produce the best possible results. From early-stage device design to my machine learning research, I’ve had to teach myself numerous skills including programming, electronics design and fabrication techniques.
As my career unfolds, I’m excited to face new challenges and learn how to improve my skills and techniques. To learn more about my work, scroll though my Portfolio or Media pages. Thanks for visiting!
Job Experience
Ph.D. Graduate Research Assistant Earl E. Bakken Medical Devices Center, University of Minnesota
- Developed a custom neural network with self-taught machine learning skills to forecast blood glucose which facilitated a new collaboration between Mechanical Engineering and the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism;
- Discovered and published on statistically significant error increases in blood glucose (sugar) forecasting for 75% of study subjects due to a switch in continuous glucose monitor position between the right and left arm;
- Engineered and published on a neural network design which eliminates forecast error due to continuous glucose monitor position changes and developed a method to reduce neural network training time by a factor of 10 using principles of linear control.
Coventor: COVID-19 Emergency Ventilator Alternative - Lead Engineer Earl E. Bakken Medical Devices Center, University of Minnesota
- Spearheaded the development of the first FDA Emergency Approved ventilator alternative for COVID-19 patients which succeeded in producing 3000 Boston Scientific manufactured ventilation devices currently in use in Peru, Honduras, India and Guinea;
- Led the engineering team which achieved FDA emergency approval 30 days after pandemic onset through coordination of daily engineering meetings, delegation of design and fabrication work, continuous technical briefing to university deans and control of final design decisions;
- Participated in the multimedia marketing campaign which lead to over $300,000 in donations by providing over 10 interviews for content produced on TV, radio, podcast and print publications including U.S. News and Bloomberg.
Contract Engineer for Medical Device Design and Development Earl E. Bakken Medical Devices Center, University of Minnesota
- Designed, fabricated, assembled and consulted on medical device prototypes totaling more than $30,000 for over 10 academic and industrial clients in fields including anesthesiology, cardiology, radiology and nephrology;
- Developed intellectual property leading to inventorship on 3 submitted patents, over $150,000 in grant funding to the laboratory and clients receiving over $600,000 in non-dilutive funding.
Earl E. Bakken Medical Devices Center Lab Supervisor Earl E. Bakken Medical Devices Center, University of Minnesota
- Responsible for daily safety and maintenance of a 9000 square foot laboratory which receives over 4000 visits per year and houses $500,000 of equipment including saws, drills, a mill, a lathe, 3D printers and electronics fabrication benches;
- Aided in writing a grant which resulted in the award of a new milling machine and laser cutter worth $40,000; managed the installation and setup of the new equipment;
- Aided in education of shop safety and basic fabrication techniques for over 100 undergraduate students per academic year.
Hackwith Design House Saint Paul, MN
- Provided on-call engineering service and maintenance for a CNC fabric cutter which included mechanical fabrication, electronic/circuit fabrication and software improvements;
- Implemented an electronics update which improved machine operation safety and ease-of-use for less than $150.
Research and Development Intern Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque NM
- Designed a weather balloon mounting system for an atmospheric sensing package costing $20,000 which successfully withstood deployment on an Arctic weather balloon subject to 30mph winds and freezing temperatures;
- Aided in collection of Arctic weather balloon based atmospheric data through routine electro-mechanical maintenance and deployment of sensor systems costing over $250,000.
Honors
University of Minnesota President’s Student Leadership and Service Award
- Presented by the University of Minnesota president for exceptional leadership and service to the university and surrounding community as the lead engineer on the Coventor: COVID-19 Emergency Ventilator team.
University of Minnesota Diversity of Views and Experiences Fellowship
- Tuition and stipend award presented to graduate students with a winning essay who promote a diversity of views, experiences and ideas in the pursuit of research, scholarship and creative excellence.
University of Minnesota Frank Snowden Fellowship
- $10,000 award presented to graduate students who represent diversity.
Calvin University Trustee’s Scholarship
- $20,000 yearly scholarship and highest merit-based award given to incoming Calvin University undergraduates.
Publications
A. Tucker, A. Erdman, S. Ma, P. Schreiner, and L. Chow, “Neural networks with gated recurrent units reduce glucose forecasting error due to changes in sensor location,” J. Diabetes Sci. Technol., (Accepted – Pending Publication).
A. Tucker, A. Erdman, P. Schreiner, S. Ma, and L. Chow, “Examining Sensor Agreement in Neural Network Blood Glucose Prediction,” J. Diabetes Sci. Technol., Jun. 2021, doi:10.1177/19322968211018246.
I. O. Yekinni, T. Viker, R. Hunger, A. Tucker, S. Elfering, M. Rheault, A. Erdman. “Design and proof-of-concept evaluation of a touchless connector system for preventing peritoneal dialysis-associated peritonits,” BMJ Innov., Jan. 2022, doi:10.1136/BMJINNOV-2021-000845.
Invited Presentations
A. Erdman, S. Richardson, A. Tucker. (2021). The Coventor Development Story: Outlining the Creation of 3000 Emergency Ventilator Alternatives in 67 Days. Advanced Manufacturing Minneapolis. Minneapolis, MN.
A. Erdman, S. Richardson, A. Tucker. (2021). Case Study – The Coventor Emergency Ventilator Alternative: Lessons from the Early Stage Development of the First FDA Emergency Approved Ventilator Alternative for COVID-19. Advanced Manufacturing Minneapolis. Minneapolis, MN.
A. Tucker. (2021) Design and Implementation of a Targeted Cardiocerebral Extracorporeal Oxygenation Membrane System. Three-in-Five Competition (2nd Place – $500 prize). Design of Medical Devices Conference. Minneapolis, MN.
A. Tucker, S. Richardson, and A. Erdman. (2020). Development of the Coventor Ventilator System. Design of Medical Devices Conference. Minneapolis, MN.
A. Tucker, S. Richardson, and A. Erdman. (2020). Conception, development, and marketing approval of the Coventor manual resuscitator compressor. Virtual Physiological Human Conference. Paris, France.
Conference Proceedings
A. Tucker, B. Retherford, P. Rothweiler, A. Selim, A. Erdman. “Design and Implementation of a Targeted Cardiocerebral Extracorporeal Oxygenation Membrane System”. Design of Medical Devices Conference 2021. Minneapolis, MN.
D. Alfonzo, A. Tucker, P. Rothweiler, Z. Galliger, H. Helms, A. Erdman. “The Process Implementation of Micro Manufactured SLA Printed Nasopharyngeal Swabs”. Design of Medical Devices Conference 2021. Minneapolis, MN.
A. Tucker, B. Retherford, P. Rothweiler, A. Selim, and A. Erdman. “Design and Implementation of a Balloon Catheter Pressure Testing System”. Design of Medical Devices Conference 2020. Minneapolis, MN.
E. Schinstock, X. Ling, R. Conadera, A. Tucker, and J. Hartoyo. “Constant Force Application on a Beating Swine Heart: Robotic Assistance for Mapping and Ablation Procedures”. Design of Medical Devices Conference 2019. Minneapolis, MN.
A. Tucker. “Device for Treatment of Neonate Hyperbilirubinemia Through Mechanical Actuated Swaddling and Phototherapy”. Design of Medical Devices Conference 2019. Minneapolis, MN.
Skills, Expertise and Interests
Engineering Skills and Expertise
- Control systems design and microcontroller implementation
- Mechanism design and fabrication
- Computer Aided Design
- Fused deposition molding and stereolithography 3D printing
- Circuit design and fabrication
- Sensor selection and integration
Programming and Mathematics
- Python programming and experience with TensorFlow, pandas, numpy, scipy, matplotlib
- Programming in C++, R, MATLAB
- Time series statistical analysis
- Ordinary and partial differential equations
- Linear algebra for control systems and machine learning
Other Skills and Interests
- Grant writing
- Technical writing
- Document production with LaTex
- This website
- This is my first attempt at website creation, feel free to leave feedback!
- All pictures were taken by me with self-taught photography skills.
- Recent literature
- Guide to Investment Strategy – Peter Stanyer
- Basic Economics – Thomas Sowell
- The Ascent of Money – Niall Ferguson
- The Square and the Tower – Niall Ferguson
- The Brothers Karamazov – Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Sports
- Soccer – NCAA Division III at Calvin University 2013-2015 (Top 25 ranked team)
- Track and Field – NCAA Division III at Calvin University 2015-2017
- Road Racing – 3 time Twin Cities Marathon runner
- Cross country skiing