Built a finite element solver for modeling Brillouin scattering in high-power laser fibers. Selected for showcase from a cohort of 40.

At DSO, a defense research lab, we were researching the use of high-powered lasers (you can use your imagination to fill in the rest). At these power levels, backscattering due to opto-acoustic interactions make up a non-trivial amount of power loss, creating a "power ceiling".

This solver was written by me from scratch (not a COMSOL wrapper) as the lack of (physics-based) abstractions helped me to work directly on the physics and geometric models. It was my first internship, so being able to successfully go from start-to-finish in building this model that could predict scattering thresholds accurately enough to be used to guide fiber design felt like a great accomplishment. (and getting selected only added to that)