About Me

My name is Arnav Prasad, and I'm currently a New Product Development Engineer at W.L. Gore & Associates. I earned my Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (BME) and Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (MSME) degrees from the University of Delaware in May and December 2020, respectively.

I spend much of my free time mentoring a high school robotics team, Team 365 MOE (The Miracle Workerz). MOE is a FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) team based out of a DuPont workshop in Wilmington, DE. I teach the students technical skills such as CAD/CAM, Java programming, and machining. Additionally, the students practice their leadership and teamwork skills. The team has attended multiple FIRST World Championship competitions.

If you would like to look at some of my accomplishments, you can view the Projects Section below.

Recognitions

In 2020, I was selected as the University of Delaware Alumni Association Alexander J. Taylor, Sr. Award recipient. This award is given to one outstanding student from the graduating class, for excellence in service, leadership, and academics (read more).

I received the University of Delaware Mechanical Engineering Department Outstanding Senior Award, as well as the University of Delaware Mechanical Engineering Department Outstanding Junior Award.

In 2019, I received the ASME Delaware Section Outstanding Student Award, granted for my leadership as President of the ASME Student Section at the University of Delaware.

At the 2022 FIRST Tech Challenge Delaware State Championship, I recieved the Compass Award. The Compass Award recognizes an adult coach or mentor, nominated by their students, who has given outstanding guidance and support to a team throughout the year and demonstrates to the team what it means to be a Gracious Professional®.

Projects: Past and Present

An image of various hypersonic instability plots
On the Effects of Binary Gas on Second-Mode Instability

For my Senior Thesis at the University of Delaware, I researched what effect the dissociation of high-temperature O2 and N2 have on the second-mode instabilities of a hypersonic boundary layer.

Download the Thesis
An image of a powered wheel on an aluminum test frame
SWERV3: a Swerve Drive Robot

As a personal project, I am developing a 3-wheeled "swerve" or "pivot" drive robot. This project has allowed me to practice my 3D modeling, manufacturing, electronics, and programming skills.

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An image of a powder transport system
Automated Fine Powder Transfer System

My Senior Design / "Capstone" project involved designing a fine-powder delivery system for a medical product company, QFix.

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An image of a powder transport system
Autonomous Driving Simulator

I took and later TA'd a course in Autonomous Driving. Due to the transition to remote learning, I developed a Unity-based simulator for students to use while practicing crucial skills such as OpenCV to have a car perform lane-following in a virtual environment.

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An image of thermoplastic clamshells in an aluminum carrier frame
Denesting Thermoplastic Clamshells

My Junior Design project was to develop a mechanical system that would easily "de-nest" thermoplastic clamshells for Siemens Healthineers.

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A colorful contour band plot.
Finite-Difference Heat Transfer Model: Internal Shark Temperature

I developed a finite-difference heat transfer model to use as a "sanity check" for Professor Aaron Carlisle at the University of Delaware. This model simulates the internal temperature of a 2D section of a shark, using real-world heat generation figures.

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An image of a shiny Piplup with sparkles
Automated Pokémon Shiny Hunter

On a bit of a lighter note, I wanted a rare, "shiny" pokémon in a recently released game. Combining my knowledge of Arduino, Python, and machine learning, I taught my computer how to automatically complete the otherwise tedious process!

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