Levi Brunelle
Showcasing My Engineering and Design Projects
Showcasing My Engineering and Design Projects
Nanotech Engineering student at the University of Waterloo with experience in a wide range of projects from surface chemistry to machining and blacksmithing.
I currently attend the University of Waterloo, where I major in Nanotechnology Engineering and am working towards a minor in combinatorics and optimization, as well as an option in quantum engineering. Thus far, my interests at school lie in materials science, quantum physics, and semiconductor fabrication. Being based out of the Quantum Nano Center means I have had the chance to use cutting-edge semiconductor fabrication and materials characterization equipment, putting our theoretical knowledge of deposition, etching, lithography, polymer science, and metallurgy to the test. In the coming terms, I will be diving deep into quantum physics and computing courses and hope to fuel a lifelong passion with the knowledge gained there.
During my co-ops up until this point, I have worked in both industrial chemical production and cutting-edge biotech R&D. My time as a process engineer at a chemical plant taught me the basics of optimizing industrial processes, leading to a successful project to improve the water purification system, but ultimately I didn’t want to continue down that career path.
The year I spent afterward at Terray Therapeutics was one of the best of my life. I was able to gain hands-on experience with magnetic nanoparticles, lab-on-chip drug discovery, fluorescent microscopy, DNA click reactions, and surface chemistry, to name a few. The highlight was a project involving rotational AC fields for magnetic nanoparticle manipulation, where I built a 3-axis magnetic stage for the lab microscope, enabling us to manipulate the substrate nanoparticles under a live video feed in order to disaggregate them at will and load them into microarrays. Looking forward, I am open to continuing down that path or trying something completely new, such as pursuing my mechanical or semiconductor interests.
I have always had an aptitude for hands-on work, which is part of the reason I chose engineering. Outside of school, however, I mostly busy myself with metalwork and the small business I run on the side: Archangel Ironworks. Blacksmithing and bladesmithing are my main passions, though I greatly enjoy machining, welding, and building heavy machinery. My pattern-welded (Damascus) steel and silver rings have been quite popular since I started making them, and lately, I have been getting really into making kitchen knives. This hobby has been a really wonderful journey, pushing my skills as a craftsman and introducing me to some pretty amazing people like Tony Swatton, who makes the weapons and armor for most Hollywood movies! The next couple of months will be focused mainly on shop improvements, building new equipment and tooling, so that I can increase my capabilities. You can see my progress on my Instagram, linked above.
