I started out already knowing that I wanted to do something in engineering, but the field was so broad and there were so many possible paths that it was hard for me to chose. Even after discovering the field of biomimicry thanks to my father's recommendation, my options were still very open.

 

I explored different fields such as bridge design, building/foundation design, and even jewelry manufacturing. However, after much research, I found that biomimicry was most used in aviation and aerospace designs. Smaller aircraft such as drones haven't yet been perfected in the same way as airplanes have; while they're maneuverable, they're not yet completely unaffected by outside conditions such as strong winds and rain. This is where I started narrowing down my research.

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I started by delving into biomimicry in diverse types of air vehicles. At first, I started with rotorcraft and helicopters, then began shifting towards MAVs. I studied different kinds of winged creatures that were used to model and stumbled upon the monarch butterfly. The monarch was praised for its unique flying capabilities, being the only butterfly to migrate across long distances and high altitudes. I questioned if other migrating insects had similar traits and if they could present the same, or even better qualities to the MAVs. From here, I researched other insects that also migrated long distances. This is were I came across the existence of the army cutworm.