Alyssa Henning

Engineer, Educator, Artist

About

Welcome to my online portfolio! My name is Alyssa Henning, and I am a Ph.D. graduate from Arizona State University. I am a biomedical engineer who loves to work on interdisciplinary science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) projects. In addition to conducting research on wearable devices, I also enjoy presenting academic fan panels at comic, game, and anime conventions. Each page of this portfolio has more information on my research, science outreach, and 3D printing hobby. I have also included links to my LinkedIn profile and Etsy shop.

Research

My biological and biomedical engineering research projects span a broad range of topics due to my academic journey and the collegiate engineering project teams that I joined and mentored in college and graduate school. My science expertise ranges from genetic engineering to testing wearable fitness and health devices. Initially, my goal was to work in the biotechnology industry, so my early research experiences were about topics like engineering bacteria to produce biofuel chemicals and studying breast cancer cells. However, I realized that I enjoy working with people more than with cells, and I wanted my research to have a more immediate impact.During my Ph.D. program at ASU, I switched to studying how urban infrastructure creates or reduces heat and how Arizonans feel when they work and exercise outdoors. My dissertation research was about using wearable wrist devices to estimate people’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure when they are walking, running, or cycling outdoors in environments with different levels of shade. I also assisted with local Arizonan heat projects, such as measuring the surface temperatures of fields and courts for ASU Sun Devil Athletics so student-athlete practices could be better scheduled around heat.For more information about my educational background, peer-reviewed publications, and teaching positions, please refer to my LinkedIn profile.Publications:
Henning AL, Jiang MX, Yalcin HC, Butcher JT. 2011. Quantitative Three-dimensional Imaging of Live Avian Embryonic Morphogenesis via Micro-computed Tomography. Dev. Dynam., 240(8), 1949 – 1957 LinkHenning AL and Catchmark JM. 2017. The Impact of Antibiotics on Bacterial Cellulose In Vivo. Cellulose, 24(3), 1261 – 1285 LinkHenning AL, Downs NJ, and Vanos JK. Sun Exposure and Physical Activity: The Valuable Role of UV Wearables. IEEE Technol. Soc. Mag., 40(3), 16 – 18 LinkHenning AL, Downs NJ, and Vanos JK. Wearable Ultraviolet Radiation Sensors for Research and Personal Use. Int. J. Biometorol. doi: 10.1007/s00484-021-02216-8 LinkHenning AL, Hudson C, and Vanos JK. Measuring and Modeling Ultraviolet Radiation Exposure with Wearable Dosimeters During Physical Activity. (In preparation)Henning AL. Perceptions of Personal Ultraviolet Radiation Exposure Results from Wearable Sensors and Recommendations for Future Wearables. (In preparation)

Science Outreach

I enjoy presenting academic fan panels at comic, anime, and game conventions, such as Phoenix Fan Fusion in Arizona and Anime Expo in Los Angeles. Phoenix Fan Fusion science panels also give continuing education credit to K-12 teachers in Arizona who attend them.In an interview with ASU News, I discussed my three science outreach panels at Phoenix Comic-Con (now called Fan Fusion) in 2017.Currently, I am a member of Cosplay for Science (C4S), a nonprofit educational initiative that uses cosplay and pop culture to lower perceived barriers between scientists and the public. With our fun and engaging fan panels, we help our audiences appreciate science in pop culture and make science feel more relatable. I enjoy dressing up in costume for my panels, and I design 3D printed and laser cut jewelry and accessories.I am the main organizer for C4S panels at Anime Expo (AX) and Anime Los Angeles (ALA). I have also presented at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) and on Twitch! Here is a list of Twitch and AX science fan panels that I proposed, led, and presented:

Here is a list of science panels that I presented from 2017 - 2019 along with other ASU and University of Arizona student panelists at Phoenix Fan Fusion (PFF), Tucson Comic-Con, Saboten Anime Con, and Taiyou Anime Con in AZ:

3D Printing

I have included examples of my 3D printing and additional engineering-related art projects below. I am self-taught in using SolidWorks, Tinkercad, Blender, CorelDRAW, and Adobe Illustrator. Some of these designs were worn at academic fan panel presentations, and some were featured in my Etsy shop. My shop is currently paused due to the pandemic.

From L to R, top to bottom: (1) Zoe wig and 3D printed jewelry from League of Legends; (2 - 4) horns and silver earrings inspired by a show called The Dragon Prince; (5) Cuphead and Mugman charm earrings from the Cuphead video game; (6) 3D printed design of Gengar for "the 5-minute Pokemon challenge" on social media in 2019; (7 - 8) 3D printed gold-plated steel and resin pendant charm and laser cut symbol, both inspired by The Arcana mobile phone game; (9) 3D printed and laser cut project for an ASU Emerge 2019 exhibit about solving problems from Star Trek; inspired by "The Trouble with Tribbles"