My name is Gerson Galindo, and I am a senior mechanical engineering student at George Mason University. My research consists of studying the effects that corrosion has on the fatigue life of Aluminum alloy 7075 T651 ( a commonly used material for aircrafts). My interest on this topic began when I took a material science course, one of the topics covered in that class was corrosion. I learned that during the design of an engineering structure, corrosion plays an important factor. Corrosion can reduce the life of the structure, lower the safety factors, and increase financial costs. Corrosion is inevitable, corrosion comes in different forms and any engineering design will always be expose to a corrosion environment. My activities consist on going to the machine shop and cut metal using different tools, taking the machined specimens to the lab and run corrosion and fatigue tests. I analyze the experimental data and find correlations from previous research. I document every source and procedure of the experiment. I am grateful for having the opportunity to explore an area of my interest and contribute to the literature of corrosion. The OSCAR program helps students to test their hypothesis and come with conclusion in the research field. This allow students to come with novel ideas, as well as enrich their academic background. When my research ends, I plan on publishing my findings on an engineering publisher. Moreover, I have plans to attend conferences where I can share my research.
