Hi, I’m Luke Aagaard. During my REU program at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, I worked under the mentorship of Tyler Ince-Ingram and Noah Moffitt, with faculty support from Dr. Alexandre Berger. My project focused on advancing two experimental diagnostic techniques in aerodynamics: Pressure Sensitive Paint (PSP) calibration and the development of a Self-Aligned Focused Schlieren (SAFS) system. For the PSP portion, I conducted temperature and pressure calibrations of fast-response HySonic PSP films. Using a thermo-regulated vacuum chamber, darkroom imaging, and MATLAB-based signal processing, I evaluated and validated pressure-response curves while accounting for thermal quenching. My results supported the film's suitability for wind tunnel testing and revealed that quadratic surface fitting provided a better match to experimental data. In the SAFS portion, I developed and aligned a benchtop focused schlieren setup capable of imaging compressible flow fields. By analyzing depth of field, resolution, and field of view using optical modeling and thin-lens equations, I successfully imaged density gradients in nozzle flows and demonstrated spatial resolution down to 0.19 mm. This project helped me gain experience in optical diagnostics, fluid visualization, experimental calibration, and image processing all critical skills in experimental aerodynamics research.