HARSH.OS 98

Space Instrumentation Workstation

Welcome - HARSH.OS 98
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Current User

Harsh Desai

Space systems engineering, instrumentation, high-voltage test automation, detector readout, plasma diagnostics, and spacecraft qualification workflows.

I build reliable test systems where physics, hardware, software, and operations collide. The recurring pattern: control the instrument, synchronize the data, respect hardware limits, and make the result explainable.

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My Computer - About Harsh
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Profile

Space instrumentation, with the wiring diagram included.

I work best in the messy middle between physics, hardware, software, and test operations. Across my CV, the common thread is turning fragile experimental workflows into repeatable systems.

That means building controls, synchronizing acquisition streams, validating hardware safety, and documenting results clearly enough that someone else can trust the experiment.

Focus Areas

  • High-voltage controls and power-supply sequencing
  • Plasma diagnostics and hollow cathode ignition workflows
  • DAQ systems, digitizers, and synchronized data logging
  • FPGA detector readout and ADC integration constraints
  • Ion optics, detector calibration, and traceable measurements
  • Space-weather and planetary atmosphere modeling
About opened | Identity and direction mapped from CV.
Explorer - Work Experience
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AddressC:\Portfolio\Work Experience
HV

LVACCS Testing Rig Characterization

Space Physics Research Lab, University of Michigan | Research Assistant | Feb 2026 - Present

  • Validated high-voltage power interface controls through failure-mode analysis of a 1300V discharge box.
  • Developed Python GUIs for remote control, data logging, and power-supply sequencing.
  • Reduced manual test interactions from 15 steps to 5 and saved 15 minutes of post-run processing.
Instrumentation workbench
TB

TestBedz Spacecraft Qualification Platform

Space Physics Research Lab, University of Michigan | Summer Intern | May 2025 - Jul 2025

  • Developed a full-stack web platform for spacecraft qualification testing.
  • Collapsed multi-round requirement negotiations into structured submissions.
  • Implemented role-based matching across 6 test-type profiles and facility limits.
UR

Uranian Tropospheric Cloud Resolving Model

CLaSP, University of Michigan | Research Assistant | Sep 2025 - Dec 2025

  • Ran cloud-resolving simulations on Great Lakes HPC.
  • Studied methane abundance, latent heating, microphysics, gravity, sedimentation, and vertical velocity diagnostics.
FP

FPGA Design for Solid-State Detector Readout

Solar and Heliospheric Research Group, University of Michigan | Graduate Student RA | Jan 2025 - Dec 2025

  • Developed a detector readout roadmap from 1 MSPS assumptions toward a 125 MSPS Zmod ADC path.
  • Correlated MATLAB golden models with Vivado co-simulations and evaluated 125 MHz RTL timing constraints.
Final reportPresentation 1Presentation 2
DD

Directional-Discontinuity Correlation Study

CLaSP, University of Michigan | Research Assistant | May 2025 - Jul 2025

  • Synchronized 1s, 10s, and 60s cadences using pyspedas workflows.
  • Quantified magnetic-field mismatch metrics across cadences and 180-second lag windows.
UO

Uranian Orbiter and Probe Mission Study

L3Harris and University of Michigan | Communications Lead | Sep 2024 - May 2025

  • Managed 15 DSN and fault-tolerance requirements.
  • Contributed to a 16% projected cost reduction through architecture trade studies.
6 objects | CV research experience mapped.
Explorer - Projects
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AddressC:\Portfolio\Projects

Selected linked artifacts

PY

Hollow Cathode Discharge Box Control Automation

Python control workbench for power supplies, plasma ignition sequencing, data logging, and high-voltage test flow.

Open GitHub
MHD

Space Weather Modeling Project

Ion-electron temperature comparison across global space-weather and hybrid model outputs.

Open report
ADC

SSD Digital Readout Chain

Detector readout architecture connecting science targets to ADC, programmable logic, timing limits, and signal-processing constraints.

ReportDeck 1Deck 2
CEM

Channel Electron Multiplier Calibration

Detector gain behavior, pulse-height distributions, and amplifier response during calibration.

Open experiment
ESA

Electrostatic Analyzer Calibration

Transmission functions, energy resolution, and angular acceptance from energy-angle scans.

SIMIONExperiment
ION

Ion-Optics Simulation Series

Bessel Box, Beam Expander, and carbon foil SRIM analyses for instrumentation component behavior.

Bessel BoxBeamSRIM
6 project objects | Links preserved from Achievements.md.
WordPad - Resume
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CV PDFCV DOCXMarkdown

Stable public files

Current CV package

The website uses stable filenames so future CV updates can replace the files without changing public links.

cv.pdf cv.docx HarshD_CV_RS1.md
Resume preview loaded from cv.pdf.
Trophy Cabinet - Achievements
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Competition record

7th

CANSAT 2022

Worldwide rank out of 42 teams for a tethered payload mission.

  • Engineered a 10 m unidirectional tether-deployment mechanism.
  • Built a servo-actuated ejection and stabilization stack.
Open CDR
23rd

Spaceport America Cup / IREC

Global rank and 5th in Asia-Pacific at the team's first attempt with a 10,000 ft sounding rocket.

  • Launched a Mach 0.9 solid-motor sounding rocket.
  • Developed integrated flight simulation workflows using CFD-backed data.
Open report
13th

CANSAT 2021

Global rank and 7th in Asia-Pacific for a dual maple-seed payload and ground telemetry system.

  • Designed mono-wing payloads with Blade Element Theory and transient CFD.
  • Built MATLAB ground-control software for real-time telemetry monitoring.
Open CDR
3 achievement objects | Evidence links preserved.
Control Panel - Education + Skills
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UM

University of Michigan

Master of Engineering, Space Systems Engineering | GPA 3.79/4.0 | Aug 2024 - Dec 2025

VIT

Vellore Institute of Technology

Bachelor of Technology, Mechanical Engineering | GPA 7.78/10 | Jul 2019 - Jul 2023

PY

Programming

Python, MATLAB, Verilog and VHDL learning paths, PyVISA, PyMeasure, data logging, and GUI control workflows.

DAQ

Instrumentation Hardware

GPIB/IEEE-488, USB-serial, Keithley DAQs and SMUs, TDK Lambda PSUs, high-voltage switching, vacuum chamber operation.

DSP

Detector + FPGA Toolchain

Amptek DPPMCA, AMD Vivado, MATLAB HDL Coder, DSP workflows, ADC paths, detector readout constraints.

CAD

Modeling + Mechanical

SIMION, SRIM, SWMF, MAGE, HYPERS, ANSYS Fluent, OpenFOAM, SolidWorks, Fusion 360, RocketPy, OpenRocket.

Education and skills mapped from CV.
Outlook Express - Contact
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Let's build clean test systems for hard hardware.

Reach out for space instrumentation, plasma diagnostics, detector readout, DAQ, calibration, and test automation work.

harshdes@umich.edu +1 734 548 1080 LinkedIn GitHub
Contact links ready.