Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. (Summer 2011) and Systems Test Engineer with 4 years industry experience in system integration, test & analysis on complex optical alignment systems. Expertise in vibration test/mitigation, control system development, and data analysis & processing. Demonstrated success as a systems test engineer/analyst, meeting tight program test schedules and milestone achievement goals. Strong oral/written presentation and communication skills. Professional experience further supported by B.S in Engineering and Master of Engineering degrees. Additional skills include:

SELECTED ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Test Engineering and Analysis

·     Created measurement and analysis tools integrating cameras, optical position sensors, capacitive probes, strain, and displacement sensors for position sensing and real-time control of beam path alignment optics, XY stages and rotary stages using Labview and National Instruments DAQ cards.

·     Developed tests, collected measurements, and analyzed data on box, bench, and system level vibration using over 100 channels of accelerometer, velocity, and optical position sensors for comparison with FEM predictions.  Used environmental measurements to shape the spectral content of vibration source inputs to simulate various operational conditions.

·     Provided system performance characterization for bench, ground, and flight tests of actively controlled alignment optics for beam trains with 20+ mirrors/lenses, developed filters to tune and improve system performance.  Worked with software engineers on real-time code verification, debug, development, and modification.

·     Created data analysis tools with Matlab, increasing analyst efficiency and reducing test report turn-around time by a factor of 10.  Supported aggressive test schedules by rapid and automated analysis tasks, processing several gigabytes of data from each of dozens of tests, generating reports, and presenting results in less than 48 hours.

Engineering Design

·     Designed micro-scale MEMS optical alignment devices using silicon fabrication techniques, using SolidWorks and L-edit CAD tools. 

·     SolidWorks CAD software design of parts and assemblies, created drawings and specifications for machine shop production of parts, and fabricated parts with standard machine tools (mill, lathe, drill press, saw, grinder, etc).

·     Developed test environment for evaluation of MEMS alignment devices using Labview, DAQ cards, voltage and current supplies, spectrum analyzers, vibration exciters, laser vibrometer, and a position feedback control system including PID and bang-bang controllers.

Presentation and Documentation

·     Presented Ph.D. research at conferences including bi-annual review sessions (1.5 hour poster and brief oral introductory presentation) and poster/oral presentations at international research conferences.

·     Industrial experience including oral presentation of analysis results at group, department, and program level.  Formal reporting and documentation of system performance and test procedures, measurements, and results.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, Davis, CA                                                                                        2007-Present

Graduate Student Researcher – MEMS Lab

Analyze, model, and design novel MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) optical alignment devices. Perform micro-fabrication using silicon fabrication processes. Instrument and test device functionality, survivability, and performance.  Solve instrumentation and fabrication challenges by developing new techniques, methods, and devices.  Develop test and analysis software using Labview, Matlab, and various image capture programs.

LOCKHEED MARTIN SPACE SYSTEMS COMPANY, Sunnyvale, CA                                                       2003-2007

Integrated and tested complex electro-optical control systems.  Performed vibration and acoustical instrumentation and tests to characterize system dynamic responses.  Characterized hardware/controls at functional and performance levels.  Analyzed large streams of test data, including development of automated processing tools in Matlab.  Created performance predictions based on hardware and control loop simulations and provided control system analysis and tuning.

HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE, Claremont, CA                                                                                       2002 - 2003

Maintained tools and machines in student machine shop, worked as TA (teachers assistant) for an experimental engineering lab class.

Developed GUI (graphical user interface) and NI-DAQ (National Instruments Data acquisition) based controller for DNA concentration, amplification, and detection device using LabWindows CVI (a C++ based language).