
Hello! I am Josh Vandervelde, a senior undergraduate at Swarthmore College. Though I am working toward a Bachelor of Science in Engineering—through Swarthmore’s ABET accredited program—my studies are focussed in mechanical engineering, complemented by a minor in applied mathematics. At Swarthmore, I have served for two years as a wind tunnel lab technician, for three semesters as an engineering and mathematics teaching assistant, and for three summers as a research assistant to my advisor Carr Everbach. And all the while, I have made sure to keep up a continuous stream of personal construction projects!
My research on inverting kites aims to provide a lightweight, energy-efficient method of lift control for a new source of sustainable energy: Airborne Wind Energy. Over the past two years, I have conducted numerical and wind tunnel tests to find an optimal inverting airfoil, constructed a new large area wind testing platform to experiment with inverting kite stability, and been accepted to the American Geophysical Union Fall 2022 Meeting to present my findings. Read more.
Personal Projects
joshvandervelde@gmail.com | 315-261-8478