Open to internships & research · College Park, MD

Email ↗Phone ↗LinkedIn ↗Résumé ↗

Rowand Zara

I'm a double-degree student in aerospace engineering and applied mathematics at the University of Maryland, focused on the thermal and structural problems that decide whether flight hardware survives its environment — I simulate spacecraft thermal systems and hypersonic flow, then build the hardware to match.

I'm drawn to hypersonics, spacecraft thermal design, and autonomous robotics — anywhere physics, simulation, and hands-on fabrication meet. I care most about systems that have to work the first time, and I'm looking for internships and research where I can build them.

Rowand Zara — professional headshot
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01Mission Dossiers

Engineering Projects

Hot-case thermal analysis of the CubeSat with the thermal system installed
PRJ-01
deployed
  • ▸Hot-case internals: 230°C → 118°C
  • ▸Presented at Johnson Space Center
  • ▸20 hardware trials verified the model

CubeSat Thermal Management — C.H.A.T.

NASA HUNCH finalist — presented at Johnson Space Center · 2024–25

Passive thermal management for a 2U CubeSat using MLI blankets and silver Teflon radiators — modeled in Thermal Desktop, built as real hardware, and verified across 20 test trials. Selected as a finalist from 200+ teams and presented at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

230→118°C
Hot-case internal temps
200+
Teams — selected finalist
$100
Total budget
Thermal DesktopMLIStefan-Boltzmann
Read dossier →
Fully built 3-DOF rover wrist on the bench, concentric gear train exposed
PRJ-02
active
  • ▸15:1 via helical + compound gearing
  • ▸10+ design reviews with senior engineers
  • ▸~30% lighter through DFM

URC Rover Arm — 3-DOF Wrist Gearbox

15:1 torque, ten design iterations, half the budget · 2025–26

Owner of the gearbox driving a 3-degree-of-freedom ball wrist on UMD LOOP's University Rover Challenge arm — helical and compound gearing to a 15:1 ratio, ~30% lighter through DFM, built for $250 of a $500 budget after 10+ design reviews with senior engineers.

15:1
Gear ratio achieved
−30%
Weight reduction
$250
Cost — of $500 budget
SolidWorksCAECNC
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PRJ-03
PRJ-03
active
  • ▸OpenFOAM CFD + FEM, coupled aerothermal
  • ▸Trajectory cases anchored in OpenRocket/FinSim
  • ▸Version-controlled workflow the whole team can re-run

Hypersonic Aerothermal Simulation

CFD + FEM geometry optimization for a spaceshot program · 2025–26

Coupled aerothermal and aerostructural analyses in OpenFOAM for the Terrapin Rocket Team's Level II vehicle — optimizing geometry for predicted hypersonic performance, with documented, reproducible workflows.

Lvl II
Rocket class
CFD+FEM
Coupled analyses
Hypersonic
Target regime
OpenFOAMCFDFEM
Read dossier →
PRJ-04
PRJ-04
deployed
  • ▸1st place of 126 UMD teams
  • ▸ML-vision autonomy in Python & C++
  • ▸Dovetail joints eliminated $50+ of fasteners

Autonomous Seed-Planting OTV

1st of 126 teams — and the lowest environmental impact · 2025

An over-terrain vehicle that plants seeds while traversing randomized obstacles using machine-learning vision — first place of 126 UMD teams and winner of the Sustainability Award.

1st / 126
UMD teams
$50+
Fasteners eliminated
Award
Sustainability winner
OnshapePythonC++
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PRJ-05
PRJ-05
active
  • ▸ResNet-18 + 1-D CNN + SVD multimodal model
  • ▸5-stage Schlieren → shock pipeline
  • ▸Cook-Felderman heat flux, MATLAB → Python

Hypersonic Heat-Flux ML Diagnostics

Predicting IR heat flux from Schlieren video — DEVCOM ARL · 2026

A machine-learning pipeline that predicts full infrared heat-flux fields from Schlieren video of Mach 6.25 hypersonic flow — built during a U.S. Army DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory internship at UMD's hypersonic wind tunnel.

Mach 6.25
Test regime
70+
Labeled samples
8
Test conditions
PyTorchOpenCVHypersonics
Read dossier →
PRJ-06
PRJ-06
deployed
  • ▸3 spacecraft systems in Thermal Desktop
  • ▸Radiator/heater sizing via Stefan-Boltzmann
  • ▸Reviewed & approved by senior engineers

Spacecraft Thermal Modeling — Vertex Aerospace

Three flight systems modeled in Thermal Desktop · 2024

Thermal modeling of three spacecraft systems during an internship at Vertex Aerospace — sizing radiators and heaters so components held their operating band from direct sun through eclipse, with results reviewed and approved by senior engineers.

~110°C
Peak temp reduction
25°C
Held through eclipse
3
Spacecraft systems
Thermal DesktopStefan-BoltzmannRadiators
Read dossier →
02Background

Résumé

  1. Hypersonics Engineering Intern

    Jun 2026 — Present · College Park, MD

    U.S. Army DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory

    Machine-learning diagnostics at the UMD hypersonic wind tunnel — predicting surface heat flux from Schlieren imagery.

    • Trained a multimodal PyTorch model (ResNet-18 + 1-D CNN + SVD decoder) predicting full IR heat-flux fields from Schlieren video.
    • Built a 5-stage Python pipeline extracting shock angle, intensity, and position from Mach 6.25 hypersonic Schlieren video.
    • Automated bow-shock detection via OpenCV polynomial fitting, generating 70+ labeled training samples across 8 test conditions.
    • Computed surface heat flux from FLIR IR thermography using the Cook-Felderman inverse method, porting MATLAB to Python.
    No image yet
    Read the mission dossier →

  2. Mechanical Engineer, Arm Subteam

    Oct 2025 — Present · College Park, MD

    UMD LOOP — University Rover Challenge

    Design and manufacture of the wrist and gearbox for the competition rover's arm.

    • Designed a 3-degree-of-freedom ball wrist and concentric gearbox in SolidWorks, integrated with the competition rover.
    • Manufactured three prototype iterations using CNC, water jet, and 3D printing — each revision driven by what the last one taught.
    • Cut weight ~30% through optimized lightening and DFM; improved load distribution ~10% with helical and compound gearing validated in CAE.
    3-DOF wrist gearbox assembly in SolidWorks
    Read the mission dossier →

  3. Simulations Engineer, Spaceshot & Aerostructures

    Sep 2025 — Present · College Park, MD

    Terrapin Rocket Team — IREC

    Aerothermal and aerostructural simulation for the team's Level II rocket and spaceshot program.

    • Performed CFD and FEM aerothermal/aerostructural analyses in OpenFOAM to optimize geometry, improving predicted hypersonic performance.
    • Estimated propulsion height-vs-time profiles across Level I and II rocket models with OpenRocket and FinSim.
    • Present at design reviews and maintain cross-subteam task documentation through GitHub.
    No image yet
    Read the mission dossier →

  4. Thermal Engineer

    Sep 2024 — May 2025 · Glenelg, MD

    NASA HUNCH — Design & Prototype

    Thermal design of a prototype CubeSat system — selected as national finalist from 200+ teams.

    • Constructed a prototype CubeSat thermal system with space-grade MLI blankets and silver Teflon after trading against aluminized Kapton.
    • Reduced simulated orbital temperatures by ~47°C in direct sunlight through thermal analysis in Thermal Desktop.
    • Ran 20 physical thermal test trials in a controlled insulated environment to verify the orbital simulations.
    Completed CubeSat thermal management prototype
    Read the mission dossier →

  5. Thermal Engineering Intern

    May 2024 — Aug 2024 · Greenbelt, MD

    Vertex Aerospace, LLC

    Thermal modeling of three spacecraft systems, with results reviewed and approved by senior engineers.

    • Decreased component temperatures by up to ~110°C in direct-sunlight cases while holding 25°C through eclipse.
    • Optimized radiator and heater configurations by applying emissivity/absorptivity properties through Stefan-Boltzmann analysis.
    • Rendered transient simulation results and orbit animations on CAD models to communicate thermal system effectiveness.
    No image yet
    Read the mission dossier →

  6. Assistant Build Lead & Competition Driver

    Sep 2022 — May 2025 · Maryland

    FIRST Robotics Competition — Team 888 "Robotiators"

    Led and mentored the build subteam while serving as one of two competition robot drivers.

    • Mentored a 20+ member build subteam — reviewing CAD and teaching CNC, laser cutter, lathe, and 3D-printing operations.
    • Helped raise the team's score average ~20%, reaching the top 200 teams worldwide and qualifying for the World Championship twice.
    • As 1 of 2 drivers, analyzed gameplay to diagnose issues and troubleshoot on the fly under competition pressure.
    • Designed intake and shooting mechanisms in Fusion 360 and Onshape for in-season and off-season robots.
    No image yet

Technical skills

Thermal & Simulation
Thermal Desktop (FEA) · OpenFOAM (CFD) · FEM / structural analysis · OpenRocket / FinSim · Orbital thermal analysis
CAD & Design
SolidWorks · Fusion 360 (certified) · Onshape · Design for manufacture
Fabrication & Test
CNC / water jet machining · 3D printing (FDM) · Laser cutting / lathe / soldering · Thermal test & verification
Programming & Tools
MATLAB · Python · PyTorch / OpenCV · C++ · Git / GitHub · Linux
03Establish Contact

Contact me

Have a project, a role, or a question? Send a message below and it lands straight in my inbox — I read every one.

Open to internships & research · College Park, MD

US citizen · security clearance eligible

Email ↗Phone ↗LinkedIn ↗Résumé ↗