+ Drawing Sheet 03 · Experience & Projects

Experience & Projects

Every research thread I'm pulling on right now, tracked from first literature search to publication — plus the roles that keep me building outside the lab.

Experience

Core Systems Engineer, Design & Analysis

Jun 2023 — Present

Team Zenith & Apogee3 club — Aerospace Society, PDEU

  • Founder & Technical Head, Team Zenith - PDEU Rocketry Team (2025) — systems engineering across propulsion, design & analysis
  • Finalist, National Model Rocketry India competition; FRR-approved; secured ₹3,00,000 in sponsorship
  • Treasurer, Apogee Aerospace Society (2024) as a core team member along with technical work
  • Same thrust with almost half the fuel weight - redesigned the propellant and additively manufactured CD nozzle, validated in static fire tests and rocket launches
  • Rocket motor fitting and body design and analysis, electronics subsystems, and launch pad design & fabrication — all in-house

Undergraduate Research Intern & Summer Research Intern

May — Jul 2025

Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Gandhinagar

  • Selected for SRIP internship (~0.4% selection rate), continued as an Undergraduate Research Fellow in the group
  • VOF-based CFD simulation of avalanche flow (Bingham plastic) in Ansys Fluent, validated to within 5% of experimental data
  • Structural testing of 2 lattice geometries — reduced peak impact force by up to 30%

Active & ongoing research

CFD · Granular Flow · Structures~1 year, ongoing

Lattice structures to blunt avalanche impact

Prof. Manish Kumar, Dean of Student Affairs · IIT Gandhinagar

  • Treats snow as a granular fluid rather than a simple solid — VOF-based CFD in Ansys Fluent, validated to within 5% of experimental data
  • Two lattice geometries simulated and impact-tested; the strongest design cuts peak impact force by up to 30%
  • Began as a Student Research Internship Program (SRIP) project — now continuing as an Undergraduate Research Fellow in the group (Internship Report Link)
  • Won the Bhalodia–Khetan Research Excellence Award — ₹50,000
Award · ₹50,000 Research Excellence
Manuscript Drafting
Thermal · Design · TPMS · CFDOngoing

Cutting pressure drop in TPMS heat exchangers

Prof. Pavan Gurrala, Associate Dean of School of Technology · PDEU

  • Exploring triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) geometries as an alternative to conventional fin-and-channel exchanger designs
  • The specific approach is staying off the record until the paper is out — but it targets lower pressure drop without giving up heat transfer
  • Novel geometry, novel fabrication path, six months from a journal submission
Analysis
Biomedical · Additive ManufacturingOngoing

3D-printed mandibular implants, without a bone graft

Prof. Pavan Gurrala, Associate Dean of School of Technology · PDEU

  • Designed and 3D-printed a patient-specific mandibular implant technique that removes the need for a bone graft entirely
  • Applied and tested successfully in a live case — a tumour patient
  • Conference paper under review at ICBME 2026, National University of Singapore
Under Review
Biomechanics · Smart MaterialsStarted this month

SMA-actuated exoskeleton for stroke rehabilitation

Prof. Nilavjyoti Sarmah · PDEU

  • Designing a rehabilitation exoskeleton driven by shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators for stroke patients
  • Currently deep in literature review and actuator characterisation
Literature Review

Published & accepted

Machine Learning · Thermal Systems

ANN model for multi-effect distillation output

Dr. Rahul Deharkar · PDEU

  • Built an artificial neural network to predict distillate output of a Multi-Effect Distillation (MED) system
  • Accepted for publication — Springer-Nature conference proceedings, ICAWTM-25, PDEU
Accepted · ICAWTM-25
Additive Manufacturing · Materials

Hot cracking across materials in LPBF

Prof. Vishvesh Badheka, former Dean of Academic Affairs · PDEU

  • Studied how material property and composition drive hot cracking in Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) across different alloy systems
  • Published — conference proceedings, IMECE-2025, ASME, Hyderabad
Published · IMECE 2025
Optimisation · Water Systems

Fitness-function optimisation for batch reverse osmosis

Dr. Rahul Deharkar · PDEU

  • Developed a physics-aligned model and a multi-objective fitness function for design optimisation of a batch reverse osmosis (RO) system
  • Accepted for publication — conference proceedings, IMECE-2026, ASME
Accepted · IMECE 2026

Earlier / foundational work

Acoustic signal based real-time monitoring system for LPBF & GTAW processes for crack mitigation in bio-compatible ZK60 magnesium implants

Dr. Ojas Satbhai, PDEU

The project that started it all — two years, first year onward

Additive Manufacturing of Batteries: Recent Trends and Challenges (review)

Dr. Ojas Satbhai, PDEU

Under review, ICTEA — presented as lead coordinator at the 1st International Battery Symposium