Gallery: Two sides of the same coin
By MacKenzie Coffman
June 11, 2017 12:00 p.m.
Meet Noa Batle. Batle is a third-year Design | Media Arts student. In the future, Batle hopes to pursue social art practice and possibly a master's degree.
(MacKenzie Coffman/Daily Bruin)
Meet Nick Lentz. Lentz is a third-year mechanical engineering student with a technical breadth in computer science. In the future, Lentz hopes to pursue a career in the industry.
(Kristie-Valerie Hoang/Daily Bruin)
On the weekends, Batle meal-preps the majority of his food for the coming week, individually packaging food for each meal. However, he prefers cooking a fresh breakfast in the morning, as part of his regular wake up routine. A typical breakfast of his includes eggs cooked over easy with either pancakes, brown rice or quinoa. After cooking, Batle said he usually catches up on news or reviews video tutorials related to projects he is working on.
(MacKenzie Coffman/Daily Bruin)
Lentz’s mornings are dependent on the amount of sleep he gets. When well-rested, he likes to get up to make breakfast with eggs. This morning was different. When running late, Lentz typically pops a frozen waffle into the toaster to make it to class on time.
(Kristie-Valerie Hoang/Daily Bruin)
On the walk to Broad Art Center, Batle usually has his headphones on. ''It’s my opportunity to find new music or even put together a new music playlist depending on my mood,'' he said.
(MacKenzie Coffman/Daily Bruin)
Lentz walks to Engineering IV from his apartment with minutes to spare before his 8 a.m. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 156A-1: ''Advanced Strength of Materials.''
(Kristie-Valerie Hoang/Daily Bruin)
Batle said he spends more time at the Broad Art Center than anywhere else. Every day, he brings lunch and dinner to campus, with the expectation that he will be working in the studio into the night.
(MacKenzie Coffman/Daily Bruin)
Lentz heads to the Student Creativity Center lab to machine the rear brake mount for Bruin Racing’s race car SuperMileage Vehicle. UCLA’s SuperMileage is an engineering organization that builds competitive race cars.
(Kristie-Valerie Hoang/Daily Bruin)
One project that Batle is working on is an augmented reality application that connects digital and physical spaces.
(MacKenzie Coffman/Daily Bruin)
Lentz continues to work on SMV. ''This year we were able to get 563 miles per gallon,'' said Lentz. ''My role this year was to serve as the powertrain and electronic fuel injection lead to make sure the engine is capable of running and transmitting power to the drive wheel.''
(Kristie-Valerie Hoang/Daily Bruin)
Batle is currently working on creating a game in Broad Art Center’s fabrication lab.
(MacKenzie Coffman/Daily Bruin)
This small, yet integral, piece keeps the rear brake securely attached to the vehicle when the drive attempts to stop. Using this caliper, Lentz precisely ensures that the piece can fit onto the vehicle.
(Kristie-Valerie Hoang/Daily Bruin)
Batle utilized the lab’s vinyl and laser cutter to produce the pieces that he is putting together.
(MacKenzie Coffman/Daily Bruin)
Lentz squeezes in study time between working on the car and the SMV meeting. ''There are times when I feel like I need to spend every waking moment of my life studying or working on SMV,'' he said. ''However, I love learning and building things that make a good portion of my workload exciting and fun. If I didn’t love what I was doing, I don’t think I would be able to get through it.''
(Kristie-Valerie Hoang/Daily Bruin)
Batle is working on the project to bring it to IndieCade, with the hopes of getting it picked up and produced by a company.
(MacKenzie Coffman/Daily Bruin)
Lentz spends the last portion of his day with the SMV team members, finalizing the plan for their annual racing competition. ''Sometimes, books can’t teach you everything you need to know. Sometimes, you really just need to go out and get your hands dirty to really understand how things work. SMV has given me this opportunity,'' said Lentz.
(Kristie-Valerie Hoang/Daily Bruin)
