About Me

Andrew Birkel

Building things. Learning new skills. Having fun doing it!

My Name is Andrew Birkel,

I am currently a Research Laboratory Operations Manager at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE).

I graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a B.S. in Applied Physics with a concentration in Electronics and Optoelectronics.

I enjoy hiking, electronics, machining, tinkering, sailing, camping, and taking things apart to understand how they work.

Check-out my research work in the field of plasma physics. // Check out my hobby in vintage manufacturing.

Andrew Birkel

Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Research Laboratory Operations Manager – (MIT RLE)

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – B.S. Applied Physics

[email protected]

Favorite Projects

[02.2020]Cruzin’ in style: An Electric Trike

[Description]: In MITERS we have a tradition of building electric vehicles and riding them around campus/cambridge for fun. This projects goal was to create a...

[05.2019]Look like a Pro, Be like a Pro: Custom Caliper Case

[Description]: Every professional has a high quality item related to their field of study or work. This item both holds significance to themselves but also...

[01.05.19]Louis of the Creek: Custom Short-staff for Christmas present

[Description]: This projects objective is to create a short-staff based off of the staff of the main character from the popular cartoon Craig of the Creek....

Complete Projects, General

[5.2021]A Rainy Day with Swedish Fish: When McMaster-Carr is Missing a CAD model

[Description]: A simple project of creating a CAD model of a Swedish fish. This is more of a silly than practical project, but was generated because of the excitement I got when someone in MITERS mentioned McMaster had Swedish fish drawings. [Processes Applied]: Solidworks [Summary]: So this project started out …

Complete Projects, General, Repairs and Disassembly

[10.2020] Give me a lever long enough…: Refurbishing two Johnson Bars

[Description]: If you have ever had to deal with moving large and heavy objects, you may have come to appreciate the value of a good lever. When it comes moving heavy equipment, nothing quite beats the stout johnson bar. In this project I set out to refurbish two johnson bars …

Complete Projects, Featured, General

[02.2020]Cruzin’ in style: An Electric Trike

[Description]: In MITERS we have a tradition of building electric vehicles and riding them around campus/cambridge for fun. This projects goal was to create a comfortable, peppy, and robust electric trike while also limiting its top speed for safety. [Processes Applied]: Soldering Battery Welding Electronics Metal Working Welding Painting [Summary]: …

General, In-Progress, Repairs and Disassembly, Started

[06.2020]$40 for Precision: A Bandsaw of class

[Description]: In the earlier part of the pandemic I was able to find a pneumatic surface grinder and bandsaw at an industrial auction (Online) in waltham, MA. What I didn’t realize at the time of purchase was just how good a bandsaw could be… let alone a $40 one. [Processes …

Complete Projects, General

[07.31.19]A Simple Hacker Space Sign

[Description]: In my opinion a key component in setting the feel for a hacker space is the sign. I finally made a decision to build a sign for MITERS that lives up to the space and the projects that are made there. [Processes Applied]: Laser Cutting Basic Electrical Work (Soldering, …

Complete Projects, General

[07.13.19] A Frame from Scratch – Custom Picture Frame Gift

[Description]: I wanted to create a personal gift for a friend, roughly from scratch, and I decided to create a picture frame. [Processes Applied]: Laser Cutting Wood Working [Summary]: For this project I decided to create a custom wooden picture frame with a topo-map of upstate New York for a …

Complete Projects, General, Repairs and Disassembly

[07.25.19] Blasting Away the Rust: Re-Seasoning Cast iron from Scratch

[Description]: Recently I came across some decent and rusty cast iron at a junk-yard and was able to pick it all up for $5. So I decided to re-season it from scratch because I had no idea what the history of the cast iron was (and what it had come …

Complete Projects, Repairs and Disassembly

[7.06.19]We Don’t Need no Stinking Batteries: Wiring up a battery powered MITERS Saw

[Description]: When working on another project I came across an issue with the tooling at MITERS. Our only MITERS saw was battery powered… but in the last year we threw away all our old tool batteries and standardized. So none of the batteries fit the MITERS Saw. That’s when I …

Complete Projects, General, Repairs and Disassembly

[07.20.19]Inflate with MORE POWER: Upgrading hand-held tube inflate-or

[Description]: This project was centered around a junk-yard find, a battery powered Quick-fill device for inflating inflatables. The goal was to improve its ability to quickly fill an inflatable raft using high discharge lithium instead of C-cell batteries. [Processes Applied]: Soldering & Wiring Battery safety [Summary]: The device originally ran …

Complete Projects, Featured, General

[05.2019]Look like a Pro, Be like a Pro: Custom Caliper Case

[Description]: Every professional has a high quality item related to their field of study or work. This item both holds significance to themselves but also to their jobs. Along these lines, as an experimental physicist and tinkerer, I have decided to create a personalized custom case for a set of …