Cal Poly student gets grant funds in Morro Bay project

A Cal Poly student received a grant from the college to continue her research on a deep ocean lander that could be used in conjunction with wind machines off the coast of Morro Bay.

Nikki Arm was one of 17 student research projects that shared in $60,000 in grants. 

The endowments support hands-on, project-based learning opportunities for individual students and groups in areas including STEM education, agricultural sciences, and climate change. Nikki Arm, a master’s student in mechanical engineering, received funding to support her thesis project designing, building, and testing a deep ocean vehicle lander. 

The project aims to improve a key component of the deep-sea lander by designing and utilizing composite pressure spheres to enable cost-effective, deeper submersion. Additionally, the project seeks to optimize sampling techniques in preparation for a multiyear controlled impact study on the wind farm being constructed off the coast of Morro Bay. 

Funding for these projects comes from the Warren J. Baker Endowment for Excellence in Project-Based Learning and the Robert D. Koob Endowment for Student Success. 

Distributions of the two endowments are pooled and used to fund multiple student projects via a competitive process, and funds may be used for student support, travel, expenses, group projects, conferences, competitions, and equipment and materials related to student research.