Ashwyn S
- Research Program Mentor

PhD candidate at Stanford University

Expertise

Plasma Physics, Aerospace, Mechanical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Computational Fluid Dynamics

Bio

I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford. I aspire to help push the frontiers of space exploration while also aiming to impact global discoveries in renewable energy by researching novel space technologies. Space is brutal and challenging due to the harsh environments and lack of power sources. To make it possible to explore the depths of the universe, we need to be creative in the ways we can harvest energy for the spacecraft. My current research passions primarily include finding new and unique ways to do this. Ultimately, I want to make the technology in Star Trek a reality! Additionally, I also enjoy building and launching model rockets and helping high school and university teams compete in rocketry competitions. During my free time, I love playing basketball and camping at national parks.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Energy Harvesting in Space

When a spacecraft is in space, it is challenging to power it for a long time. Current power sources aren't viable for the deep space mission objectives we aim to have in the future. Therefore, we need to think of new and creative ways to power spacecraft. Some potential ideas include spacecraft charging, hypervelocity impacts, hall currents, etc. The project I propose is to investigate these novel ideas or to try and come up with new ones.

Coding skills

Python, Matlab, C++

Languages I know

Malayalam (fluent), Tamil (fluent)

Teaching experience

I've been a math and physics tutor for more than 7 years now. I've also been a mentor for high school and undergraduate rocket competition teams which involved helping the students learn the fundamentals of rocketry while also helping them build a fully functional model rocket.

Credentials

Work experience

Stanford Univeristy (2020 - Current)

Research Assistant

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (2017 - 2020)

Research Assistant

Chess Ninja (2019 - 2020)

Chess Coach

Astec Industries (2018 - 2018)

Research Engineer

Education

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

BS Bachelor of Science (2020)

Mechanical Engineering; Mathematics

Stanford University

MS Master of Science

Aeronautics and Astronautics