George Kiriazes, an undergraduate research assistant in the Laser-Plasma Lab at the Center for Directed Energy, learned first-hand that experiments often have unexpected twists and turns.<\/p>\n
One of his research projects is to develop a 3D-printed buoy that can withstand direct sun exposure and saltwater while still being functional.<\/p>\n
This summer he placed four small 3D-printed bobbers made from PETG and ABS with different coatings in a canal near the TISTEF facility on the Space Coast to see how the coatings did against the sun and saltwater.<\/p>\n
\u201cA few weeks later, we learned that a new investi \u2018gator\u2019 had joined our research team and had added \u2018taste\u2019 to our testing criteria,\u201d Kiriazes says.<\/p>\n
Turns out alligators, commonly found in Florida canals and waterways, had taken a bite out of Kiriazes\u2019 experimental buoys.<\/p>\n
No worries, he is back at the drawing board figuring out how to make the next set of prototype buoys gator resistant. It\u2019s all part of the scientific process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"George Kiriazes, an undergraduate research assistant in the Laser-Plasma Lab at the Center for Directed Energy, learned first-hand that experiments often have unexpected twists and turns. One of his research projects is to develop a 3D-printed buoy that can withstand direct sun exposure and saltwater while still being functional. This summer he placed four small 3D-printed bobbers made from PETG…","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":123159,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[1112],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-123158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-creol"],"yoast_head":"\n