Matthew Harwood

mgharwood@icloud.com  |  (904) 403-4503

Education

   University of Florida - Gainesville, FL

  • B.S. Aerospace Engineering (Summa Cum Laude): 12/2016
  • B.S. Mechanical Engineering (Cum Laude): 12/2016
  • Overall GPA: 3.93/4.00

Honors and Awards

  • UF President's Honor Roll: 6/8 Semesters
  • UF Dean's List: 8/8 Semesters
  • UF Anderson Scholar High Distinction
  • Tau Beta Pi - The Engineering Honor Society
  • Golden Key International Honour Society
  • Eagle Scout with Bronze, Gold, and Silver Palms

Fellowships and Scholarships

  • Georgia Institue of Technology President's Fellowship and Graduate Research Assistantship
  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Stillwell Fellowship
  • Texas A&M University Graduate Research Assistantship
  • University of Florida Graduate School Preeminence Award
  • University of Michigan Engineering Graduate Symposium Travel Grant Awardee: 2015
  • Texas A&M University Grad Expo Visitation Day Travel Grant Awardee: 2015
  • UF College of Engineering Collins Engineering Scholarship: 2015-2016
  • UF College of Engineering Eickhorst Scholarship: 2014-2015
  • Wentworth Scholarship Fund: 2013, 2014, 2015
  • Bright Futures Scholarship Florida Academic Scholars Award: Max 8 Semesters

Research

   Micro Air Vehicle Lab - UF, Professor Peter Ifju (2015-2016)

  • Developed a micro thrust-vectoring system for a rolling-wing glider that allowed for pitch and yaw control
  • Scaled and adapted 1-foot span rolling-wing concepts to 4-foot span rolling-wing
  • Modeled wing spar twist induced by a piezoelectric shear actuator using FEA to determine best actuator configuration for most twist

   Unmanned Aircraft Systems - UF, Professor Peter Ifju (2013-2015)

  • Developed plasma ionization surface treatment method to increase peel strength of carbon fiber / foam bond interface by 19%
  • Researched and tested various wing cross-sections and manufacturing processes including sandwich section, plasma ionization, and perforations to increase strength-to-weight ratio for the Mako aircraft and found plasma ionization had the largest increase
  • Assembled composite lay-ups for the unmanned Mako aircraft's fixed wings and fuselages

Internships and Work Experience

   Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) - Hawthorne, CA

  • Propulsion Turbomachinery Build Engineering Intern (Summer 2016)
    • Tested visual indication and ultrasonic inspection fastener preload measurement techniques to replace the typical torque-to-preload technique with preload variability upwards of 25%; began qualifying the ultrasonic inspection technique as it proved to be the most robust technique achieving preload variability of less than 5%
    • Developed new turbopump assembly process to decrease build time by up to 60%
    • Classified strength, fatigue, and flaw size criteria of nominal, non-nominal, and flown turbopump housings via hydrostatic cycle and burst testing
    • Created standard repair procedure documentation to decrease Engineering time needed to disposition issue tickets
  • Propulsion Turbomachinery Build Engineering Intern (Summer 2015)
    • Developed turbopump assembly manual and tooling to decrease the assembly technician head count from three to one
    • Tested manufacturing methods to decrease local high stress areas in turbine wheel
    • Performed hydrostatic testing of non-nominal turbopump housings to discover strength bounds

   General Electric (GE) Aviation - Grand Rapids, MI

  • Engineering Intern (Summer 2014)
    • Co-led a Lean Six Sigma team focusing on increasing first time yield and decreasing cycle time
    • Designed and tested a 3D printed Poka Yoke fixture to increase first time yield of an avionics assembly
    • Co-led a team to increase effectiveness of defect analysis in nonconforming material processes to predict and prevent production line stoppages
    • Reduced a minimum of 12 work hours per week by transitioning paper bill of materials to electronic versions

   Harwood Kettles

  • Co-Owner / Co-Founder
    • Designed fire kettle and fabricated its wood pattern
    • Implement and maintain website, social media, and advertisement media

   Replacement Metal Castings, Inc. – Yulee, FL

  • Pattern Maker (Summers 2010-2013)
    • Designed more efficient pattern design by minimizing sand to metal ratio
    • Constructed bearing housing and spacer part patterns for industries including paper, mining, and heavy equipment
    • Trained 2 new employees through means of hands-on demonstrations and feedback

Project Examples

  • Astrodynamics / Orbital Mechanics
    • Scripted in MATLAB
    • 15 hours of ISS trajectory with epoch orbital parameters on February 20th, 2016 at 12:25:00 GMT
    • Converted orbital parameters to state vector
    • Used ODE45 function to integrate Keplerian dynamics with Earth’s oblateness perturbation (J2) for plotting orbit in ECEF (Earth centered Earth fixed)
    • Used Julian Date and Greenwich Sidereal Time to correct ground track longitude
    • Computed closest point of orbit to Gainesville, FL
    • Also familiar with: Orbital maneuvers (Hohmann, bielliptic, phase/apse/plane change, and non-impulsive maneuvers), Interplanetary trajectories (sphere of influence, patched conics), Orbital rendezvous, STK Level 1 Certified
  • Dynamics and Controls
    • “Programmed” in LabVIEW
    • Manually tuned independent PID controllers for down-table and cross-table motors
    • Image thresholding for computer vision and homography transformation to relate puck location to paddle location (motor encoders)
    • Strategy “brain” for game play logic
    • Also familiar with: Controllers (Bang-bang, lead, PID, sliding-mode), Root locus and Bode plot, Filtering (Analog/Digital, low-pass/band-pass/notch, Butterworth)

Leadership and Involvement

   Rocket Team - NASA Student Launch UF Team

  • Launch Vehicle Structures Engineering Lead (09/2015 – 02/2016)
    • Designed modular structure for integrating motor section, avionics section, payload section, and nosecone together
    • Tested structural design for 7-foot Class K rocket via FEA simulations, component testing, and sub-scale launches
  • Launch Vehicle Systems Engineering Lead (09/2014 – 04/2015)
    • Presented PDR, CDR, and FRR reviews to the NASA Student Launch Review Board
    • Identified and ranked failure modes of launch vehicle and determined ways to minimize failure
    • Designed and improved portions of the payload bay’s revolving door, the main electronics bay airframe, the locational supports of the launch rail lifter, and the automated retrieval mechanism’s collar and arm
    • Machined chassis for the automated retrieval mechanism and rings for the motor retention mechanism
  • Manufacturing Lead (09/2013 – 04/2014)
    • Machined ~6” OD aluminum bulkheads, baffles, and centering rings for a 14-foot Class N full-scale rocket
    • Designed and built fin alignment jig for installing fins on various size competition rockets

   American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) - Student Branch at UF

  • Congressional Visits Day (03/2015)
    • Met with multiple Representatives' offices on topics including ITAR reform, R&D tax credits, and STEM diversification
  • AIAA Student Conference (04/2014)
    • Won 2nd place for Community Outreach with work performed as 2013-2014 Community Service Director
  • Treasurer (09/2014 – 05/2016)
    • Oversaw $25,000 budget across AIAA Student Branch at UF, Rocket Team, and DBF
    • Raised $300 in polo sales for emergency funding for Rocket Team and DBF
  • Community Service Director (09/2013 – 05/2014)
    • Planned Aerospace Day 2014 bringing in 40 middle school students to UF to learn about basics of aerospace and build and launch water bottle rockets
    • Lectured basics of rocketry at local elementary schools and performed model rocket launches

   Engineers' Week - Benton Engineering Council at UF

  • Director of Finance (10/2013 – 04/2014)
    • Managed a $14,000 budget across 12 different events and 52 Student Activity Requests (SARs)
    • Worked with multiple companies to get competing quotes to best fit the budget
    • Led a Finance 101 class to teach event directors the finance systems of UF's Student Activities and Involvement
  • Assistant Director of Education (11/2012 – 02/2013)
    • Communicated with over 70 representatives from 31 local county high schools to bring in more than 200 students
    • Designed online registration system for schools and individuals

   Freshman Leadership Engineering Group - UF

  • Selected as 1 of 30 in an interview class of 130
  • Fall Corporate Formal Planner (05/2013 – 10/2013)
    • Invited faculty representatives to a corporate networking event for the 2013-3014 FLEG class
    • Ordered and coordinated hors d'oeuvres with a $500 budget for approximately 70 guests using CATERTRAX
  • Workshops Committee Member (09/2012 – 04/2013)
    • Worked in a team to plan 5 events to promote engineering retention such as a design competitions and success workshops that each brought in on average 20 engineering students

Skills

  • Simulation: STK (Level 1 Certified), SolidWorks Motion Analysis (Intermediate)
  • 3D Modeling and Drafting: NX and SolidWorks (Advanced); AutoCAD and GD&T (Basic)
  • Programming: ŸLabVIEW and MATLAB (Intermediate); C++, Visual Basic, and Java (Basic)
  • Manufacturing: Lathes and Mills (Intermediate); 3D Printing, Welding, and Soldering (Basic)
  • ŸAnalysis: ANSYS and ABAQUS (Basic)