Nivitha
Mavuluri

This device targets the palms of the hands, one of the body's most effective heat-exchange surfaces. By applying targeted cold to this area, the system delivers enough cooling to measurably reduce core body temperature by 1.2°C.

The design integrates a thermoelectric cooling element with a custom-fit palm interface, making it practical for athletic recovery, heat stress mitigation, and field use.

A non-invasive tympanic temperature logger designed for field biologists tired of invasive measurement methods (rectal and esophageal). The system eliminates parasitic heat loss to deliver accurate readings, stored directly to a portable DAQ unit.

Built for real-world deployment in challenging field conditions where reliability and ease of use are critical.

Designed improved biologging tags for scientists at Hopkins Marine Station, Monterey, enabling collection of long-duration data on blue whale speed, depth, and migration patterns.

The device was tested in flow tanks and validated via CFD simulations in Fusion 360. An inverted wing modification proved most beneficial in reducing acceleration noise and stabilizing the tag. The design is non-invasive and significantly cheaper than existing solutions.

Developed an acoustic biomonitoring system that uses snapping shrimp sounds to assess reef health. An acoustically complex (ACI) habitat indicates a healthy and biodiverse ecosystem.

The system was successfully deployed in Quandamooka, Australia, with data visualized as spectrograms to detect amplitude peaks and characterize reef health over time.

Designed a video game that replaces visual proximity cues with haptic temperature feedback. Players navigate a maze to hunt for a ghost — guided entirely by warmth and cold sensed through a custom-built mouse interface.

The project involved integrating thermoelectric elements with real-time game state, creating a novel interaction paradigm that bridges the digital and physical.

Built a fully functional robot capable of navigating and completing a timed obstacle course. Key achievements include a ping pong ball launcher and a mechanism to transport a pot between designated stations.

Designed and fabricated as part of a team competition, requiring rapid iteration on both mechanical and electrical systems under time constraints.

A self-closing box that shuts itself the moment it is opened. The elegant constraint: the only items that fit inside the box are all of the required electrical components.

Built as a hands-on exercise in feedback loop programming, the project reinforced core control systems concepts in a tangible and playful format.

A sculptural rose crafted entirely from sheet metal as a one-of-a-kind Mother's Day gift. The inspiration: my mother dislikes maintaining flowers — watering them, pruning them. So I made her one that would last forever.

This project was an introduction to sheet metal fabrication processes, including cutting, forming, and joining thin-gauge metal into delicate organic shapes.

A compact, fully disassemblable pour-over coffee maker machined from food-grade aluminum. Designed specifically for dorm life — where space is at a premium and annual moves are a reality.

Built using milling, lathe, and tapping processes, with tight tolerances on mating surfaces for a leak-free assembly and clean aesthetic.

A precision-crafted brass bell created through a full multi-process workflow: casting, sand blasting, milling, and tapping. Each step required careful attention to material behavior and dimensional tolerances unique to brass.

Problem: Demand for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) exceeds supply, making it difficult for private flyers to access green aviation options.

Solution: A book-and-claim web platform that allows users to purchase SAF credits for private flights, decoupling physical fuel delivery from environmental credit — enabling broader SAF adoption. Already used by a Stanford professor.

Built during a summer internship at a hydrogen storage company, this web-based data acquisition platform collects, stores, and visualizes real-time experiment data from cryo-compressed hydrogen tests run at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Accessible by any team member from anywhere, the platform enables remote monitoring of ongoing experiments and reduces the need for on-site presence during data collection runs.