Angel Hernandez’s Summer 2024 at TU Hamburg
March 18, 2025 By Grace Qian (Edit)
Read below about Angel Hernandez’s Summer 2024 at TU Hamburg!
About Me
My name is Angel Hernandez, I am studying Mechanical Engineering at Berkeley’s College of Engineering. I am primarily involved in Berkeley’s RC plane building competition team Cal Aero SAE, ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Student Chapter), and work as a Drop-In Peer Tutor for the CAEE. In my spare time, I enjoy playing tennis, rock climbing occasionally, and rooting for the San Diego Padres. I have been in California my whole life, and the majority of my time was spent in sunny San Diego before moving up to the Bay. This past summer I was given the opportunity to Hamburg, Germany with the assistance of the GLOBE Discovery Scholarship for my research internship at the Hamburg University of Technology.
Prelude – Europe
Navigating a whole new continent appeared that it would be an exciting yet daunting undertaking for me. I have only been outside the States a handful of times to visit family in Mexico. I have always wanted to visit major European countries. I barely even knew what to expect when I landed in Hamburg, other than I knew the public transportation was good. That was the case for traveling, but I am fairly knowledgeable of European history from my studies and personal interests, ranging from the Renaissance to the Cold War. Germany’s role in history cannot be understated, where I knew all the major beats, from the Holy Roman Empire to the present day. I would be staying in Hamburg, which is part of Northern Germany, close to Prussia, the state whose leader, Otto Von Bismarck, formed the German Empire. To say the least, I was very excited to go to Europe, and Germany was at the top of my list.
A Port City – Hamburg
When landing in Hamburg, there was some sense of familiarity while looking around. It was much more modern, not that I disliked it, but my expectations were subverted. I came to learn from my Ph.D. student Supervisor, Timo Schmidt, that Hamburg had been all but destroyed during the Second World War since it was a significant port city for all of Europe making it a
wartime target. Once learning this, it was impossible not to see it when exploring the city, but it was not something of sorrow, but rather something to be amazed at how this city had recovered, as well as all of Germany had recovered from the Second World War. There is evidence all over the city, and they have been transformed into something that now the public can use and enjoy. The city has two primary forms of rapid transit, the S-Bahn, run by DB (Deutsche Bahn AG), and the U-Bahn, run by the city of Hamburg. According to Schmidt, many U-Bahn, tunnels used to belong to bunker networks during the war, and now are used every day by the residents of the city. In the northern part of Hamburg, Heiligengeistfeld, there lies Flakturum IV, known as St Pauli Bunker in the present day. Just before my stay in Hamburg, it was transformed into a green space for all to visit. I visited when the Hamburger DOM, a carnival fair, was set up. It was impossible not to marvel at its height while going to Hamburg Fan Zone during the Euros. While on the top of the bunker, an overview of the entire city can be found. One can see to Eble and beyond, perhaps even see TU Hamburg. Also in Hamburg, many canals run throughout the city. All the Berkeley and Waterloo exchange interns took a day trip with our supervisors canoeing around Hamburg. With all this being said, it is clear that Hamburg is intimately connected with the maritime industry, and more recently aerospace, with an Airbus facility being located on the outskirts of the city via the Elbe. My research project falls in nicely within some of the problems that ocean and aerospace engineering would like to solve, how to save weight.
Research Project – Topology Optimization
My research project culminated in the implementation of functions related to Robust Contact Constraint Topology Optimization. That is quite the mouthful to say, so I would shorten it to “TopOpt” throughout my summer. The basic idea of TopOpt is to optimize structures to hold their load cases with less material used. Its application is widespread, from ships and aircraft to small hand-held devices. The research itself was challenging since it spanned many graduate-level topics I have barely touched with my current courses, but it was very interesting and enjoyable. I was able to implement two different models within the in-house simulations package in C++ known as TopOptiMuM, pronounced “Top-op-ti-mum.” This research experience has shown me what I am truly interested in within mechanical engineering, modeling and simulations. I plan to pursue this area of engineering in the future as a career. In the short term, I plan to apply these soft skills I picked up to my club work and coursework.
Concluding Thoughts
In my free time during my three months, I took full advantage of the Deutsch Ticket and traveled around Northern Germany for free which included Lübeck, Lüneberg, Kiel, Cuxhaven Bremen, and the capital Berlin. I also took the liberty to explore other parts of Europe on my own accord, whether by myself or with friends. One of my favorite visits, even to my surprise, was a small solo trip to the town of Lüneburg. There I found a museum all about Prussian history. Of course, Berlin was a major highlight, especially the East Side Gallery, as well as the Topography of Terror Holocaust Museum. My favorite part of Hamburg was the water, from being out on the port to the canals that ran through the city. These experiences in Europe have also motivated me to explore more of the United States. With the GLOBE Scholarship Fund, I was given this golden opportunity to not only explore my academic and career interests but also explore a culture I have always been interested in learning more about. While I only received small snippets of other European countries, at least I was able to enjoy a major part of Northern Germany through Hamburg. It truly has been an invaluable experience, from the culture, and the history, to the friends and memories made, something I will not soon forget, if ever.
