Aerospace engineering · CU Boulder

I design, build, and test aerospace hardware.

I’m a third-year aerospace engineering student working in propulsion testing, aerodynamics, and mechanical design. I’m currently looking for a Summer 2027 internship where I can contribute to real hardware and learn from a strong engineering team.

Boulder, ColoradoB.S. Aerospace Engineering, May 2028U.S. Citizen · 3.62 GPA

Selected work ↓

About me

I’m Sarvesh, a third-year aerospace engineering student at CU Boulder.

I’m most interested in systems engineering and aerodynamics, especially projects that bring together design, testing, instrumentation, and data analysis. Outside class, I work with the CU Sounding Rocket Laboratory on solid-motor static-fire testing.

I grew up in Fremont, California, and came to Boulder to study aircraft and spacecraft. Before college, I spent years swimming and playing water polo, including serving as a team captain. Those experiences shaped how I communicate, stay accountable, and work through problems with a team.

Selected work

Four projects, from test planning to flight design.

Choose a project below to jump to its full case study.

01Solid rocket motor testingView project 02Clark Y-14 wind tunnelView project 03Lightweight gliderView project 04Aerial seed dropperView project

01 · Propulsion testing

Solid rocket motor
static-fire testing

CU Sounding Rocket Laboratory
September 2025—present

Static-fire test14.7 s video · sound on

My role

I started by supporting test setup and analysis. By February 2026, I was planning and leading test preparation and execution with a four-to-six-person team.

Before the test

Authored three test plans, coordinated propulsion, structures, and avionics interfaces, mapped DAQ channels, and calibrated load, pressure, and temperature sensors.

After the test

Used MATLAB to reduce thrust and chamber-pressure data, calculate total impulse, compare results to our internal-ballistics model, and document configuration changes.

Pressure versus time graph comparing measured motor chamber pressure with the simulation. — **Measured vs. simulated chamber pressure.** The test reached roughly 700 psi and followed the predicted trend through most of the burn. Across testing, calculated total impulse was within 6% of predicted performance.

One useful finding

When the load-cell baseline began drifting, I traced it to heat conducted through the fixture. Thermal shielding and a pre-test zeroing step reduced the drift from 4% to under 1% on the next test.

02 · Experimental aerodynamics

Clark Y-14
wind-tunnel study

ASEN 2502 · Fall 2025
Team technical note

The question

How does a Clark Y-14 airfoil behave across angle of attack, and what can that tell us before we design a small glider?

Test

We used a 16-pressure-tap airfoil in a low-speed tunnel at 15 and 30 m/s. I helped collect the 30 m/s pressure data and reduce the results in MATLAB.

Analysis

We built pressure and velocity distributions, integrated surface pressure to estimate lift, and compared our lift curve with published NACA data.

Lift coefficient versus angle of attack at 15 and 30 meters per second, compared with NACA data. — Fig. 5 Lift-curve comparison

Pressure coefficient along the Clark Y-14 chord at 30 meters per second. — Fig. 2 Pressure distribution at 30 m/s

Velocity along the Clark Y-14 airfoil surface at 30 meters per second. — Fig. 3 Surface velocity at 30 m/s

What we learned

The strongest suction—and therefore most of the lift—developed near the leading edge. The measured lift curve matched the NACA trend between 0° and 5°, while stall occurred earlier in our lower-Reynolds-number test.

Read the technical note ↗

03 · Aircraft design

Lightweight
glider design

NACA 2414 · Fall 2025
1 m span constraint

Onshape CAD model of the lightweight glider with pink wings and tail surfaces. — Final aircraft model in Onshape

The wind-tunnel work fed directly into a second problem: turning aerodynamic data into a stable aircraft we could build and fly.

≈ 9: Aspect ratio
≤ 1 m: Wingspan
NACA 2414: Selected airfoil

I worked through weight and balance, center-of-gravity placement, wing loading, mean aerodynamic chord, wetted area, tail volume, and dihedral. We used those calculations to choose a configuration, build the aircraft, and evaluate it in flight.

MATLAB · Onshape · trade studies · stability analysis

04 · Mechanical design

Aerial seed
deployment system

Engineering Projects · Spring 2025
Reforestation concept

Comparison of the beta funnel mechanism and final servo-actuated rack-and-pinion flow mechanism. — Beta concept → final rack-and-pinion mechanism

Objective

Our goal was to create something that could make a positive impact beyond the classroom. We chose reforestation and designed a compact system to distribute seeds consistently in areas that are difficult to reach by hand.

Iteration

Our beta funnel relied on a simple sliding gate. The final design used a servo-driven rack and pinion for better control and a more compact package.

Build

I designed and assembled CAD hardware, tested three gate geometries, and integrated a 3D-printed housing, threaded cap, fasteners, and silicone sealing.

Experience & tools

Outside the project page.

At Hayward Flight, I troubleshot and calibrated flight simulators, repaired four simulator PCs, and worked across software, plugins, and cockpit hardware. I’ve also built more than 20 custom PCs and worked as a STEM camp counselor—two experiences that taught me how to diagnose problems and explain technical ideas clearly.

Analysis

MATLAB / Simulink, Python, C++, STK

Design

SolidWorks, Onshape, NASTRAN, 3D printing

Test

DAQ, load cells, pressure transducers, temperature sensors

Systems

Test planning, integration, V&V, traceability, root-cause analysis

Sarvesh with fellow Camp Galileo STEM counselors outdoors — Camp Galileo · Summer 2025
Working with the counselor team taught me to explain technical ideas to different audiences, adapt quickly, and keep a group moving together.

Contact

If you’re working on aircraft, propulsion, or systems test, I’d like to hear about it.

sarvesh.chandrakumar@gmail.com ↗ (510) 690-3798 ↗ LinkedIn ↗ View résumé ↗