Erik L. Kaitfors

http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikkaitfors

jywat2@r.postjobfree.com

** ********* *****

Rapid City, SD 57701

(605) 641 - 6080

CAREER SUMMARY

An entry level engineer with background in robotics research. Multifaceted background including leadership experience as Chief Engineer of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Team, Teaching Assistant for Mechatronics, \& IT Support Technician. Focusing in dynamic modeling for various systems and their application to embedded control systems. Also very keen design and manufacturing skills with a respectable knowledge of programming.

Very personable and willing to help and teach anyone. Experience with small team management and operations from time with UAV team. Very willing to listen before speaking and able to communicate opinions and ideas effectively. Quick to learn anything related to computer software or hardware. Great documentation and technical communication background.

EDUCATION

M.S. Mechanical Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, Rapid City, SD, Oct 2011

GPA: 3.25 Concentrations: Control Systems, Dynamics Modeling, & Fluid Dynamics

Thesis: Rotor Dynamic Modeling with Application to Quadrotor UAV Control

B.S. Mechanical Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, Rapid City, SD, May 2008

GPA: 2.9 Concentrations: Heat Transfer, Fluid Dynamics, & Physics

PROJECTS

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Research, SDSM&T UAV Team, Sept '08 - Aug '11

* Chief Engineer, Fall '10

* International Aerial Robotics Competition (IARC), summers '08 - '11

* Real-Time Control Systems Simulation & Application, May '11 - Aug '11

* Quadrotor UAV Dynamics Modeling & Control, Sept '08 - May '11

* Quadrotor UAV Airframe Design & Manufacturing, May '10 - Aug '10

* Automated System Identification of Rotor Dynamics, Nov '09 - May '11

* Senior Design Team, Multiple Small UAV Integration & Release, Fall '06 & Fall '07

Near-Field Scanning Optical Microscope Design, SDSM&T Physics Dept., May '08 - Aug '08

EMPLOYMENT

Research Project Assistant, SDSM&T RIAS Dept., Rapid City, SD, Aug '11 - Present

Accomplishments: Design the mechanical system and control algorithms for a tilt-rotor

and vectored thrust quadrotor vehicle.

Graduate Research Assistant (UAV Team), SDSM&T ME Dept., Rapid City, SD, Aug '08 - Aug '11

Accomplishments: 3D Fluent Analysis, Airframe Design, Involved with Kinect Application

& Development, Rotor 3D CAD Model, Rotor System Identification, & Sub-Vehicle Release Mechanism

Graduate Teaching Assistant (Mechatronics), SDSM&T EE Dept., Rapid City, SD, Aug '10 - May '11

Accomplishments: Designed rules and guidelines for Robot Race, Worked with Arduino embedded

controller, Supervised various mechatronic projects, & Graded lab reports.

Undergraduate Research Assistant, SDSM&T Physics Dept., Rapid City, SD, May '08 - Aug '08

Accomplishments: Near-Field Scanning Optical Microscope Design (NSOM), Laser Safety Training,

Liquid Helium Cryostat Knowledge, & Nano Probe Etching Understanding.

Engineering Intern, Hutchinson Technology Inc., Sioux Falls, SD, Jan '07 - Aug '07

Accomplishments: 3 Sigma, Lean 5S Organizational System, Laser Safety Training, Lotus Notes & Paper-

work, Production Tooling CAD Design and Revision, QA work, Statistical Analysis on Production

Data, Trained operators for Weld Tensile Test machine, & Laser Weld Tensile Test Machine Operator

CERTIFICATIONS

Engineer in Training, #E-10175, Dec '07

PUBLICATIONS

System Identification of Rotor Pendulum System with Control Application, In Progress

Automated System Identification using Matlab's Instrument Control Toolbox, In Progress

SKILLS

- Computers

Microcontrollers: MBED (ARM), Arduino (Atmel), Maple Leaf (ARM), Gumstix (ARM)

Operating Systems: All Microsoft, OS-X, Robot Operating System (ROS), Ubuntu Linux

Programming: C, C++, Excel Macros, HTML, Java, Machine G-Code, Matlab

Software: ABAQUS, Comsol, Fluent, LaTex, Microsoft Office, Mathcad, Matlab, Pro-E, Solidworks

- Manufacturing

CAD Design (GD&T), Faro-Arm Laser Scanner, Fast Prototyping, Haas 3DOF CNC Mill, Manual

Lathe & Mill, MasterCam, & Mig/Tig Welding

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

American Society of Mechanical Engineers (Aug '07 - Present)

Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (June '11 - Present)

AWARDS & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

South Dakota NASA Space Grant Consortium Fellowship, Graduate Research Stipend ('10 & '11)

ITS Technology Fellow Program Fellowship (Fall '04 - Spring '08)

Author on Best IARC Competition Paper (Summer '08,'10,'11)

Speaker on Best IARC Competition Presentation (Summer '10)

Central Connecticut State University Helicopter Workshop, CT Space Grant sponsored (June '11)

SDSM&T Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Team (Aug '07 - Present)

SDSM&T Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Team (Consulting Spring '08-Present)

Order of the Engineer (March '08)

Engineers Make Great Entrepreneurs Workshop (Apr '10)

SDSM\&T All Campus Leadership Retreat w/Jonathan Sprinkles, Storm Mountain (Oct '09)

SDSM&T Football Team, Starting Kicker/Cornerback ('04 & '05 seasons)

KEYWORDS

Manufacturing, Design, CAD/CAM, Solidworks, Pro-E, Geometric Dimensioning \& Tolerencing (GD\&T),

Pro-Trac Mill, Sharp Mill, Haas CNC, Rapid Prototyper, Lathe, Numerical Methods, FEA,

Solid Mechanics, Heat Transfer, ANSYS, ABAQUS, Comsol, CFD, Gambit, Fluent, X-Foil, Fluid

Dynamics, Gas Dynamics, Programming, C, C++, Java, LaTeX, Matlab, Control Systems,

Real-Time Control, Embedded Microcontrollers, Mathematical Modeling, Simulation, State

Space, Time Domain, Linear Algebra, Embedded Control, System Identification, Design of

Experiments, Probability / Statistics, Sensor Integration, Robotics, LIDAR, Kinect, IMU,

Magnetometer, Gyroscope, Ultrasonics, IR, WiFi, Bluetooth, I2C, Serial Communication,

Physics, Optics, Electromagnetism (EM), Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), Autonomous

Underwater Vehicle (AUV), Helicopter Theory, Aerodynamics, Rotorcraft, Teamwork, Teaming,

Leadership, Effective Communication, Technical Documentation, Microsoft Office, Powerpoint, Excel,

MS Word, MS Project, Linux, OS-X, Team Management

REFERENCES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

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