Tariq Akilah
Third-year mechanical engineering student at UC Irvine with hands-on experience in vehicle and aerodynamic design, seeking engineering design roles in motorsport, automotive, and aerospace.
- Discipline
- 3rd-Year Mechanical Engineering, UC Irvine
- Focus
- Fluid Dynamics / Structural Analysis
- Based
- San Jose, CA
Irvine, CA - Status
- Open for Summer 2027
Experience / 07 entries
Experience
Undertray Aerodynamics
Raised undertray downforce by reprofiling the inlet and diffuser geometry in SolidWorks, validated across pitch and yaw angles in STAR-CCM+.
Canard Roll-Control CFD
Ran 244 SimScale CFD cases for Thrust Stack, a canard-controlled airframe built for closed-loop roll stabilization, sweeping deflection from 0.55 to 9.9 degrees and freestream velocity from 33 to 113 m/s. Delivered a 162-point roll torque coefficient dataset adopted directly into the flight control logic.
Two-Stage Rocket Avionics Bay
Led a five-person avionics team through design, integration, and flight test of a two-stage high-power rocket. Cut avionics bay mass 34%, modeled a 1.12-cal stability margin in OpenRocket, and traced two failed launches to a faulty barometric reading and wind-induced tilt, correcting both for a final flight simulated at 5,400 ft.
High-Power Rocketry Certification
Designed and FDM-printed a PETG-CF airframe on a Bambu Lab P1S, holding geometric symmetry under simulated flight loads at under 600 grams. Flew a stable Mach 0.747 profile to 4,600 ft and recovered it without critical damage to earn NAR Level 1 certification.
Motorized Trike - Full Vehicle Build
Built a motorized trike from recycled materials with a $500 budget and a five-week deadline. Self-taught MIG welding for the 1.75 mm wall steel tube chassis, rebuilt a seized 212cc engine, and mated a go-kart rear axle to a bicycle front fork for steering. Held a 180 lb rider through cruising and drifting loads with minimal to no chassis flex, and achieved a top speed of 40 mph.
Coilover Suspension Assembly
Reverse-engineered a full coilover unit in Fusion 360, from spring and damper through shock body, adjustment ring, and mounts. Ran GD&T-based tolerance analysis across three design revisions to balance fit and clearance in PLA-printed components for smooth, secure adjustment travel.
DAF Tank Redesign - SJSC Wastewater Facility
Redesigned a dissolved air flotation tank against real plant dimensions for a simulated failure case. Delivered the full package: CAD models, updated civil and electrical site plans, and addenda, contracts, and change orders written to industry documentation standards.
Profile
About
I'm a third-year mechanical engineering student at UC Irvine focused on vehicle and aerodynamic design, with hands-on fabrication experience from CAD through welding.
Currently an Aerodynamics Engineer on Anteater Electric Racing, UCI's Formula SAE EV team, developing the car's undertray in SolidWorks and validating it in STAR-CCM+. Previously, I was the avionics lead on a collegiate rocketry team developing a two-stage high-power rocket, ran a 244-case CFD analysis on a canard-controlled airframe during a research internship, and earned my National Association of Rocketry (NAR) Level 1 high-power rocketry certification.
Looking for a summer 2027 internship that challenges me to build on my experience in aerodynamics, vehicle dynamics, and vehicle structures.
- Education
- B.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Irvine - Expected 06/2028 A.S.-T Physics and Mathematics, Mission College - Completed 06/2026
- Cumulative GPA
- 3.88
- Citizenship
- US Citizen
- Current team
- Aerodynamics Engineer at Anteater Electric Racing, UCI Formula SAE EVJuly 2026 to Present
- CAD & design
- SolidWorks, Fusion 360, Onshape, AutoCAD, GD&T and tolerance analysis
- Simulation
- STAR-CCM+, Ansys Mechanical, SimScale, OpenRocket
- Fabrication
- FDM 3D printing, MIG welding, soldering, mechanical assembly
- Programming
- MATLAB (Simulink), C / C++, Python
- Certification
- NAR Level 1 High-Power Rocketry, National Association of Rocketry
- Leadership
- Co-Founder and Vice President, Mission Launch Rocketry
Founder and President, Mission College Muslim Engineering Society
Secretary, Mission College Associated Student Government. - Honors
- Dean's List, five consecutive semestersPhi Theta Kappa Honor SocietyHonors Program completion
- Languages
- English, Arabic
Contact
Get in touch
The fastest way to reach me is email. I answer everything.
tarakilah101@gmail.com