Gustavo Guillen 406 W C.

St Moscow, ID 83843 Feburary 24, 2012 SGP, University of Idaho 709 Deakin Avenue Moscow, ID 83843 Dear Student Grant Proposal Committee, To begin, I would first like to thank you for taking the time to review my proposal. The following content contains my ideas for a design project that will not benefit me, but potentially the University as a whole. For the Spring 2012 semester of ME 430, Senior Experimental Design, a fellow colleague and I have taken on the task of experimenting with a self-propelled hydrofoil, the AquaSkipper, a recreational watercraft. At its current state, customer satisfaction is relatively low and not fulfilling expectations. Customers are not particularly satisfied with the quality of specific parts of the watercraft or the learning curve associated with the operation of the AquaSkipper. Our job is to determine why particular components of the AquaSkipper are prone to failure and how we can alter the current design to make it more robust, as well as determining the aspects of learning how to operate the craft that we perceive as being difficult. Arrangements have already been made with the head of Memorial Gyms pool keeper. As such, the design team will carry out experiments in the University pool at pre-arranged times (already scheduled). This project will have a significant impact on my academic career, such that I will be able to gain invaluable experience in working with a product already out on the market. This will also allow me to utilize skills learned earlier in my career to set up and carry out practical experiments to analyze and develop a prototype. Moreover, the results of this project will have a direct positive influence on the reputation of the University of Idaho. With proper funding, this project can be made possible for us and the inventor of the AquaSkipper, Shane Chen. Success in our experimental design would further expand the University of Idahos network into the industrial market spectrum, providing future hands-on opportunities for students in upcoming semesters of ME 430, giving them an upper-hand over students from other Universities in the job market. Sincerely,

Gustavo Guillen