Tal Kaufman: Waterloo Mechanical Engineering Co-Op at Kraken Sense
Tal Kaufman, a second-year Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Waterloo, shares his experience working for Kraken Sense as a Mechanical Engineering intern.
Tal completed his co-op term at Kraken Sense as a Mechanical Engineering intern, prototyping the centrifuge of a qPCR-based pathogen detection device while gaining multidisciplinary experience in biotechnology and engineering.
What was your main project?
“I was working on developing the concentrator and its subsystems. The device we were building, the KRAKEN, is based on the principle of real-time, automated pathogen detection. With traditional PCR, you’d have to send the samples to a lab and then results might take 24 hours to come back. But the KRAKEN does sample collection, PCR, and pathogen testing all on one platform, so my main project was prototyping the automated centrifuge that would be used to amplify pathogen concentrations for analysis.”
“A lot of my work was 3D-printing the components of the concentrator. I’d use CAD software to design and print the parts, then I’d go into assembly and testing. Ultimately, I prototyped six subsystems of the centrifuge and actually got to see the concentrator working in the end.”
What was the most rewarding part of your experience?
“Probably being able to see the concentrator finally working. I was given lots of freedom with this project; a lot of my experience was individually putting forward ideas and my supervisor just giving me the go-ahead to try those ideas. So getting the subsystems to work individually then watching it all come together, that was very personally rewarding.”
“Near the end when we were doing the final testing, everyone came to watch the concentrator working successfully. I felt very proud.”
What’s something you learned that you can take with you moving forward?
“I definitely learned a lot and improved a lot as an engineer. Being in the field was a great way to learn a lot of hard skills; I learned a lot about mechanical components, like different kinds of valves and dampeners, and I gained experience working with piping and tubing.”
“But I think the most valuable skill I learned was time management. In the beginning, it was a big jump to be working in such a fast-paced environment with these quick turnaround periods. I had to adjust a lot of my strategies to make time to fail and iterate on my prototypes, but doing so allowed me to keep improving my designs until they succeeded. Time management is such an important skill in every aspect of life, so I’m glad I had this experience to learn how to manage my time and work efficiently in a fast-paced setting.”
What did you enjoy about the company culture?
“Everyone was super welcoming. As an intern, I had a lot of questions but everyone was always willing to answer in detail to help me out. It’s only been a few weeks but I already miss my coworkers!”
About Kraken Sense
Kraken Sense develops all-in-one pathogen detection solutions to accelerate time to results by replacing lab testing with a single field-deployable device. Our proprietary device, the KRAKEN, has the ability to detect bacteria and viruses down to 1 copy/mL. It has already been applied for epidemiology detection in wastewater and microbial contamination testing in food processing, among many other applications. Our team of highly-skilled Microbiologists and Engineers tailor the system to fit individual project needs. To stay updated with our latest articles and product launches, follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram, or sign up for our email newsletter. Discover the potential of continuous, autonomous pathogen testing by speaking to our team.