**Harsh Desai** harshdes@umich.edu | \+1-734-548-1080 | [LinkedIn](http://linkedin.com/in/harshddes) **|** [harshddes.github.io](http://harshddes.github.io) **EDUCATION** **University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI, USA** Master of Engineering, Space Systems Engineering | GPA: 3.79/4.0 August 2024–December 2025 **Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) Vellore, India** Bachelor of Technology, Mechanical Engineering | GPA: 7.78/10 July 2019–July 2023 **RESEARCH EXPERIENCE** **Space Physics Research Lab, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI, USA** Research Assistant February 2026–Present *Project: Lunar Vehicle Active Charge Control System (LVACCS) Testing Rig Characterization | Supervisor: Dr. Omar Leon* * Validated high-voltage power interface controls through rigorous failure mode analysis of a 1300V discharge box to ensure hardware safety during high-throughput plasma source characterization * Developed Python-based GUIs that reduced manual test interactions from 15 steps to 5 and automated plasma ignition sequences, streamlining remote control data logging and power supplies for experimental repeatability, preparing the facility for testing Spacecraft Charging Device hardware * Characterized remote Hollow Cathode ignition workflows to improve test repeatability, achieved 98.6% data synchronization across data streams and saved 15 minutes of post-run processing for high-fidelity predictive plasma modeling Summer Intern May 2025–July 2025 * Developed “TestBedz”, a full-stack web platform for spacecraft qualification testing that collapses multi-round requirement negotiations into structured submissions for thermal-vacuum, vibration, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) testing cycles * Facilitated requirement flowdown for satellite hardware testing by implementing a role-based matching platform that ensures compatibility between hardware profiles and facility operational limits for 6 test-type profiles **Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering(CLaSP), University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI, USA** Research Assistant | Supervisor: Dr. Cheng Li September 2025–December 2025 *Project: Uranian Tropospheric Cloud Resolving Model* * Trained in running cloud-resolving(CRM) simulations on Great Lakes HPC cluster, exploring mechanistic interpretation of sensitivity to methane abundance/profile, latent-heating and microphysics settings, and gravity * Investigated interactions between latent heating and sedimentation by simulating Uranian cloud behavior by exploring the coupled effects of phase-change thermodynamics and sedimentation using vertical velocity and methane condensation diagnostics **Solar and Heliospheric Research Group, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI, USA** Graduate Student Research Assistant | Advisor: Prof. Stefano Livi January 2025–December 2025 *Project: FPGA Design Implementation for Solid-State Detector (SSD) Readout Chain* * Developed a digital readout roadmap for solid-state detectors by sizing components against scientific detection targets, bridging mechanical sensor design with high-speed programmable logic implementation * Simulated an increase in available pulse digitization rates from 1 MSPS to 125 MSPS to support high-fidelity particle energy resolution by integrating a Zmod ADC 1410 path into a Zynq-7000 programmable logic architecture * Achieved functional correlation between MATLAB golden models and Vivado co-simulations for high-speed digital signal processing paths using a Model-Based Design approach in MATLAB HDL Coder * Evaluated hardware timing limitations for a 125 MHz system clock by performing post-synthesis Register-Transfer Level (RTL) analysis, identifying path constraints (Worst Negative Slack failure) within the Zynq SoC architecture **Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering(CLaSP), University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI, USA** Research Assistant | Supervisor: Dr. Mojtaba Akhavan-Tafti May 2025–July 2025 *Project: A multi-cadence Tsurutani-Smith (TS) directional-discontinuity analysis of the Rivera et al. PSP-Solar Orbiter conjunction* * Synchronized temporal alignments across three data cadences (1s, 10s, 60s) to identify solar-wind event matches by shifting Parker Solar Probe timestamps to correlate with Solar Orbiter observations using a Python-based process (pyspedas library) * Quantified magnetic field mismatch metrics and structural evolution within solar-wind streams by implementing the jump-detection methodology across the cadences and 180-second lags **L3Harris and University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI, USA** Communications Lead, Uranian Orbiter and Probe Mission Study September 2024–May 2025 * Led communications subsystem design for the mission, managing 15 requirements for DSN connectivity and fault tolerance through a high-fidelity requirements traceability matrix * Achieved a 16% ($450M) reduction in projected preliminary mission costs by conducting an architectural trade study through an orbiter-only spacecraft configuration using heritage five-instrument suite and by capping the payload budget **ACADEMIC PROJECTS** **Space Instrumentation Calibration & Ion-Optics Series** Graduate Course: SPACE 571 | Supervisor: Prof. Stefano Livi July 2025–December 2025 * Optimized operating bias for Channel Electron Multipliers (CEM) by mapping pulse-height distributions and amplifier gains within a high-fidelity laboratory instrumentation calibration series * Generated high-fidelity transmission functions to quantify energy resolution and angular acceptance for a cylindrical electrostatic analyzer (ESA) by extracting moments from energy-angle lab scan data * Modeled ion-optical system metrics for an Einzel lens and Beam Expander geometries by using SIMION and SRIM simulations to calculate Full Width at Half Maximum values and filter responses **Spatial Ion-Electron Temperature Correlation** Graduate Course: SPACE 477 | Supervisor: Prof. Xianzhe Jia January 2025–April 2025 * Evaluated energy equation resolution(Ion-Electron temperature comparison) within the Space Weather Modeling Framework by tracing ion spatial distributions across the magnetosheath using global multi-fluid Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) models * Characterized reconnection-driven heating by identifying peak electron temperature excursions during simulated shock events using high-fidelity (HYPERS) hybrid model to evaluate convective transport dominance # **LEADERSHIP AND ACTIVITIES** **CANSAT 2022 (NASA & AAS)** Ranked 7th worldwide out of 42 teams (team’s best). August 2021–July 2022 * Engineered a 10 m unidirectional tether-deployment mechanism using a DC motor and custom worm-gear spool, enabling non-backdrivable load transfer and controlled descent of a 2 mm braided-nylon payload line * Built a servo-actuated ejection and stabilization stack: elastic-lid release with torsion-spring lock for parachute deployment, plus a dual-servo 2-axis gimbal maintaining a fixed 45◦ downward south-facing camera vector **Spaceport America Cup/International Rocketry Engineering Competition (IREC) in 2021** Placed 23rd globally and 5th in Asia-Pacific April 2020–July 2021 * Launched a Mach 0.9 solid-motor sounding rocket to a 10,000-foot target altitude * Developed an integrated flight simulator to optimize sounding rocket trajectories, incorporating computational fluid dynamics (CFD) back-end data into a student-researched and developed (SRAD) flight software suite **CANSAT 2021 (NASA & AAS)** Placed 13th globally and 7th in Asia-Pacific August 2020–July 2021 * Design and simulation of the mono-wing payloads, implementing Blade element Theory, and complex transient CFD simulations for descent, for multi-parameter design optimization. * Engineered a real-time telemetry acquisition framework for an atmospheric re-entry vehicle by building custom ground control software to monitor dual maple seed-inspired payload deployments using MATLAB **SKILLS** * Programming Languages: Python, MATLAB (learning), Verilog (learning), VHDL (learning) * Tools: SIMION, SRIM, Amptek DPPMCA, FPGA Design Workflow, AMD Vivado, MATLAB HDL Coder & DSP Toolbox, NI VISA(PyVISA and PyMeasure), SPENVIS, SWMF & Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Models(MAGE, SWMF, HYPERS), Google Data Studio * Hardware:GPIB/IEEE-488, USB-serial, serial data logging, Vacuum Chamber Operation(CTI-Cryogenics Hi-Vac, Roughing pump: Operated at 1 mTorr), Keithley DAQs and SMUs, TDK Lambda PSUs, High Voltage Switching Operations * Mechanical Engineering Tools: ANSYS (GUI/TUI): Fluent, Mechanical; PyANSYS, OptiSlang, OpenFOAM, SolidWorks, Fusion 360, AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, SpaceClaim, MIDO, Xflr5, RocketPy, OpenRocket **INTERESTS** Space Instrumentation, Plasma diagnostics instrumentation, DAQ systems and digitizers, HV test automation, Detector design and readout, Calibration traceability, Low-noise signal-chain reasoning, Testing and control workflows, Ion optics and detector characterization