Experiences

The following industry experiences and assistantships, which I held during my time in graduate school at Purdue University, have been instrumental in my professional development.

Industry

Dhruva Space, India (Summer 2020)

Description: The 3-month long internship was geared towards programming an attitude dynamics and controls simulator in Python to simulate the attitude of CubeSat with passive magnetic attitude control (PMAC) and the dynamics coupled with orbital perturbations. The goal was to assist the hardware team to size the PMAC hardware based on the results of simulated scenarios. In addition, the code had to be designed in a modular fashion to enable the easy addition of sensor models and orbit determination schemes, such as the Unscented Kalman Filter. The analysis from the simulator was used to instruct the choice of the attitude control hardware used for Thybolt CubeSats launched in 2022.

Learnings: I gained experience with designing and coding a simulator from the ground up using Object Oriented Programming and stakeholder (hardware team) requirements with minimal supervision. In addition, I honed my dynamics modeling skills by simulating the Earth’s magnetic field and Hysteresis rod torque. A unique thing I learned was how to compartmentalize sensitive information to be able to share only selective information with another intern, who worked on developing sensor models to be added to the simulator.

Technologies used: Python, MATLAB, Google Cloud Platform, Asana

Concepts learned: Object Oriented Programming, System Design, Dynamics Modeling, Software-in-the-loop

Dhruva Space, India (Summer 2019)

Description: The 12-week internship was centered around designing various Earth Observation and communication satellite constellations. The design focused on developing an orbit propagator to model the orbits and analyzing spatial and temporal resolutions for various coverage requirements and payload capabilities. An additional aspect was to visualize the satellite constellation around Earth and their ground track.

Learnings: I gained a fundamental understanding of satellite constellation design and how to set up a workflow to test multiple configurations to identify designs that can meet the desired requirements. I realized the importance of clear and concise technical communication to share complicated results and the power of animations to visualize the data.

Technologies used: Python, MATLAB, GMAT, SaVi

Concepts learned: Satellite Constellation Design, Dynamics Modeling, Data Visualization

Indian Institude of Technology Delhi, India (Summer 2018)

Description: The project focused on creating an environment with a physical camera and objects, and a program to interface with the camera in real time. The objective was to rotate a camera mounted on a stepper motor and detect shapes and colors in the environment.

Larnings: I learned how to control a stepper motor using SPI protocol and how to interact with a camera in real time. I realized how to design a simple environment to test basic machine learning algorithms to identify shapes and colors in it.

Technologies used: MATLAB, IMU, Camera

Concepts learned: Create Physical Test Environments, Machine Learning

Assistantships & Fellowship at Purdue Univeristy

Minority Engineering Program, Summer Fellow

June 2022 - August 2022

I had a very rewarding experience as a summer fellow. I got the opportunity to co-instruct 40 students, from underrepresented backgrounds, in 6-8th grade as part of the SEW program. The course was focused on teaching the concepts of programming and robotics using Scratch programming language and the Lego Mindstorms NXT robotics kit. In addition, I learned to design a course and co-instruct it to rising senior students in the MITE program. I challenged the students to enable them to learn concepts of programming, engineering, and robotics using the Hummingbird Kit. This experience allowed me to flourish as a mentor, communicator, and instructor.

Engineering Undergraduate Research Office, Graduate Assistant (EURO GA)

January 2021 - May 2022

I worked in a multi-faceted role, where I was able to impact all aspects that the office catered to. The roles of the office were to analyze research for credit data, mentor undergraduate students to be successful in finding and pursuing research opportunities, host outreach events, and organize the Purdue Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program. I assisted with planning the logistics of the program, scheduling the program, updating the application system, student-faculty pairing, mentoring undergraduate students, and hiring SURF GAs. In addition, I participated and led multiple outreach events. Furthermore, I analyzed student participation data related to research for credit and SURF to assist the College of Engineering leadership to make funding decisions. The various responsibilities allowed me to become a better communicator, mentor, team player, and team leader.

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, (Lead Graduate Assistant (SURF GA)_

May 2021 - August 2021, May 2023 - August 2023

The 11-week-long SURF program focused on helping the selected students to experience the entire research lifecycle, from performing a literature review to presenting their work in a symposium. My role was centered around assisting other staff to grade assignments, providing constructive feedback on the students’ work in a non-technical capacity, hosting professional development seminars, and organizing the SURF symposium. This opportunity allowed me to become adept at agile thinking, organizing large-scale events, and a more confident communicator.

ENGR 161: Honors Introduction To Innovation And The Physical Science Of Engineering Design I, Teaching Assistant

August 2023 - December 2023

The course was centered around teaching students the principles of engineering through experiential learning by leveraging Python, and Raspberry Pi. I provided constructive feedback to 400+ students on homework and projects. Additionally, I assisted with operational logistics of various class activities and projects, and streamlined the inventory management system of $100,000+ products.

ENGR 162: Honors Introduction To Innovation And The Physical Science Of Engineering Design II, Teaching Assistant

January 2023 - May 2023

The course was centered around teaching students the principles of engineering through experiential learning by leveraging Python, and Raspberry Pi. I provided constructive feedback to 400+ students on homework and projects. Additionally, I assisted with operational logistics of various class activities and projects, and streamlined the inventory management system of $100,000+ products.

ENGR 103: Introduction to Engineering in Practice, Teaching Assistant

August 2021 - December 2021

The course helped students to professionally develop and prepare for research opportunities. It was a unique course that enables students to be successful at obtaining opportunities in industry and academia. I assisted the instructors with grading, providing feedback and mentoring students. The best part about the experience was that I was able to lead a few lectures and share my research journey.

ENTR 500: Technology Commercialization, Teaching Assistant

August 2022 - December 2022

The weekly seminar course allowed the students to learn about intellectual property rights, patent law, funding, business plan, etc to prepare them to commercialize any technology. I assisted in grading thought papers and providing constructive feedback to the students. In addition, I was able to leverage my previous experiences to streamline administrative tasks, such as taking attendance and administering quizzes. I gained important knowledge to commercialize technologies and further honed the skill to provide constructive feedback.