Engineer Engineering

RUCHA S. BEDARKAR

Hyattsville, MD *****

*****.********@*****.*** 240-***-**** linkedin.com/in/ruchabedarkar

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT ENGINEER

Design, Modeling & Research

Research and develop novel design concepts; provide valuable insights and creative solutions through

experimentation and analysis.

Comprehensive experience in Mechanical Engineering with over three years in fuel processing – fuel cell

industry and two years of academic research in various engineering applications. Expertise ranges from

thermal/structural modeling and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis to machine design and hands on

testing.

Core competencies include:

Design of Experiment (DOE) Automated Control with LabVIEW

Test Set up & Data Acquisition 3D CAD Modeling

Literature Review Computational Analysis

CFD Modeling & Simulation Machine Design / Prototyping

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

BALLARD POWER SYSTEMS, College Park, MD 2012 – 2015

Product Development (Mechanical) Engineer, Fuel Processing Center of Excellence

Developed low cost H2 production fuel processor for 1 – 5 kW PEM fuel cell systems.

• Created experimental design and executed intensive testing of 15+ vaporizer design prototypes

independently, leading to 100% elimination of two phase heat transfer instabilities.

• Achieved optimal thermal efficiency and maximum conversion for burner and oxidation reactor subsystems

through 3D CFD modeling and comparative analysis.

• Led as chief investigator and engineer on reforming catalyst durability project, running over 2500 hours on

test bench that resulted in accurate determination of catalyst deactivation phenomenon.

• Performed thorough literature review, guiding research on heat transfer enhancement and reaction

kinetics.

• Enabled customized automated controls that catered to every test by designing piping and instrumentation

diagrams (P&IDs), developing control algorithms, and incorporating them in LabVIEW.

• Served as go to person for installation, operation, and troubleshooting of laboratory instruments, including

IR gas analyzers and FID TCD gas chromatographs, maximizing functionality through calibration and

resolving issues.

ICF INTERNATIONAL, Columbia, MD 2011 – 2012

Energy Efficiency Intern

Worked in a team to facilitate execution of energy savings projects for states of Delaware and Maryland.

• Performed detailed analysis review (over 1500 cases) for energy savings calculation using BEACON

Energy Software.

• Validated eligibility for energy tax credits by working interactively with contractors and homeowners.

• Identified opportunities for increased efficiencies and recommended energy saving measures, assisting

Energy Audit walk throughs for residential energy savings projects by PEPCO and Washington Gas.

• Delivered ahead of project deadlines consistently, resulting in recognition for efficient and diligent task

completion.

RUCHA S. BEDARKAR PAGE TWO

*****.********@*****.***

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, College Park, MD 2010 – 2011

Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Fire Protection Engineering 2010 – 2011

Defended thesis on a NASA project aimed at calculating surface temperatures of bodies in space from

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camera signal data collected from international space station.

Developed mathematically intensive computation methods using MATLAB to solve complex radiation

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equations.

Demonstrated thesis concept through experiment on a simulated blackbody.

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Graduate Research Assistant, Center for Environmental Energy Engineering 2010

• Gained expertise in C# for application in CoilDesigner, heat exchanger design software.

• Improved formulation for CoilDesigner for plate heat exchangers by incorporating heat transfer

correlations.

• Created proposal to increase functionality range of Microchannel exchanger solver through control volume

discretization.

EDUCATION

Master of Science, Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland at College Park, USA, 2011

Thesis: Camera Spectral Sensitivity Characterization Using Blackbody Radiation

Relevant Projects

ASHRAE Level I Commercial and Residential Audits

Temperature Humidity Sensor Evaluation for Texas Instruments

Cell Phone Deconstruction and Chip Packaging Study

Mixed Flow Gas Chamber for Corrosion Testing

Bachelor of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, University of Mumbai, India, 2009

Relevant Projects

Solar Thermal Lag Engine – Fabrication and Analysis

Affiliations

Student Chapter President, Indian Society for Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (ISHRAE)

Technical Team, Mechanical Engineering Students’ Association (MESA)

COMPUTER PROFICIENCY

C, C++, C#, MATLAB, HTML, Visual Basic, Python

Programming

Applications MS Office, LabVIEW, CFdesign, CADalyzer, Pro E(Pro/ENGINEER), SolidWorks,

AutoCAD, EES, Sigmaplot, Pro/Mechanica, Catia

Contact this candidate