Mechanical Engineering · UT Austin

Om Chavan

Spacecraft. Propulsion. Exploration. This is what I think about. I got into aerospace after watching the Perseverance rover land on Mars—the engineering behind it convinced me this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

Focus Aerospace, Robotics, Hardware
Graduation 2028
Your photo here (you working on a rocket)
Your photo here

Mechanical Engineering · The University of Texas at Austin · Class of 2028

The short version

The Perseverance landing wasn't just cool to watch—it rewired something in my head. The precision of it, the years of engineering behind seven minutes of terror, the fact that people actually built that. I knew immediately that I wanted to be one of those people.

Now I'm at UT Austin studying mechanical engineering with a robotics minor, building flight hardware with Longhorn Rocketry, and doing motion-tracking research using high-density 3D point clouds in medical imaging. My focus is spacecraft and propulsion systems—the things that actually get us off the ground.

Outside the lab, you'll find me watching F1 for the aerodynamics as much as the racing, at the gym, or figuring out which credit card gives the best rewards. I like to optimize things—even the mundane ones.

Tools & Skills

SolidWorks Python 3D Printing Lab Equipment Woodworking MS Office

Projects

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Project Title One

Brief description of the project. What was the challenge? What did you design, build, or analyze? Summarize the key outcome here.

SolidWorksCFDWind Tunnel
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02

Project Title Two

Brief description of the project. Highlight the engineering problem you solved, the tools you used, and the results.

ANSYSFEAPrototyping
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03

Project Title Three

Description of another project. Focus on your personal contribution, the engineering process, and any quantifiable results.

MATLABPropulsionTesting
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Resume

Education

B.S. Mechanical Engineering Honors, Robotics Minor

The University of Texas at Austin
Expected Dec. 2028 · GPA: 4.00/4.00

Coursework: Calculus III, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Statics, Mechanics, Engineering Design

Collegiate Experience

Flight Hardware Engineer

Longhorn Rocketry Association
Fall 2025 — Present

Led ejection charge setup and bulkhead wiring for Aurora's successful 14,215 ft AGL test flight (Mach 0.99) with full recovery. Performing wet carbon fiber layups on fiberglass fins and calibrating fin templates to ±0.5% dimensional accuracy for IREC competition.

2nd Place — SEC Makeathon 2025

Student Engineering Council, UT Austin
Fall 2025

Prototyped JellyRoll, a low-cost classroom system for automated attendance and participation tracking. Delivered a working prototype in a 48-hour competition as part of a 3-person team, presenting to judges including SpaceX Test Engineers.

Undergraduate Researcher

UT Austin
Spring 2026 — Present

Tracking object motion in nuclear imaging using robot-acquired high-density 3D point clouds. Developing experimental setups simulating patient breathing and localized motion to benchmark 3D flow estimation algorithms for SPECT medical imaging correction.

Corporate Relations & Socials

Texas Flight DBF
Fall 2025 — Present

Managing industry partnerships and team activities for UT's AIAA Design/Build/Fly competition team (120+ members).

Experience

Intern

Vanguard Defense — Harvard Ventures Program
Summer 2025

Delivered an aerial object detection model achieving 90%+ accuracy for reconnaissance applications at an early-stage defense startup. Curated 8+ open-source datasets and annotated 200+ photos using a custom Python application to train a YOLOv8 model.

Materials Science Engineering Researcher

UNT Advanced Materials Processing Lab
Summer 2024

Worked 250+ hours with Dr. Sameehan Joshi to refine a next-gen self-healing bone implant slurry. Operated SEM, DIW 3D printer, and sintering furnace to create and evaluate hydroxyapatite samples. Awarded 2nd Place at the 2024 Citizen Entrepreneurship Int'l Competition.

Skills

Technical

3D Printing, Lab Equipment, Woodworking, SolidWorks, Python, MS Office

Interests

Aerospace, Formula 1, Credit Card Rewards Optimization, Boxing

Download full resume (PDF)

Let's talk

I'm looking for internship and research opportunities in aerospace engineering. If you're working on spacecraft, propulsion, or anything that leaves the atmosphere—I'd love to connect.