Siavash Sarrafan

As a member of a multidisciplinary engineering team, my role is integral to ensuring operational excellence and regulatory compliance in a power plant setting. I focus on strategic problem-solving and process improvements to enhance overall efficiency and reliability. My contributions are geared towards fostering sustainable practices and meeting essential service standards. I am committed to leveraging my engineering expertise in diverse operational environments to drive innovation and efficiency in a technical and complex setting.

• Performed nanoindentation and SEM imaging on steel samples printed using Selective Laser Melt (SLM). • Learned machine learning and incorporated it to model constitutive equations for shape memory polymers. • Derived and programmed constitutive equations for Shape Memory Polymers (SMPs). • Mathematically modeled interfacial fracture in SLM printed materials. • Gained experience with synthesizing polymers and performed thermomechanical analysis on them. • Investigated mode-II crack propagation in self-healing SMPs as an adhesive. • Fabricated polymers and polymer-based syntactic foams and performed a series of characterizations as well as various types of thermal, rheological, and mechanical testing on SMPs. • Helped many undergraduate and Ph.D. students, as well as postdoctorate fellows, with different aspects of their research. • Also did some analytical modeling and prepared multiple journal papers (published, in review, or being submitted) Some characterization techniques I used: SEM, FTIR, EDS, DSC, XRD, TGA, Light Microscopy Some tests I performed: tensile, compression, 3-point bending, impact, creep, relaxation, frequency response, rotational rheology, tests concerning electric or magnetic properties of the specimens

• Developed a novel discrete dislocation dynamics simulation that outperforms the current models by an order of magnitude in computational efficiency. • Expanded my knowledge in materials science and dislocation dynamics. • Attained expertise in computational mechanics and optimizing numerical codes. • Improved my presentation skills. • Guided students in doing their lab experiments and graded their reports and presentations. • Acquired experience working in a laboratory. • Gained further teaching experience.

• Managed teams in projects for marketing, researching, and opinion surveys. • Accomplished projects with the highest score among the teams – every time. • Met deadlines set by the contractor. • Inspected team members randomly at work while filling out questionnaires. • Checked the accuracy of the questionnaires by randomly calling some of the respondents. • Inspected filled questionnaires by team members to confirm their completion and through the given procedures of each survey.

• Helped install machineries such as a turbo separator, a super calendar, two pumps, and a 5-ply corrugate fiberboard production line with four (A, B, C, and E) flutes. • Communicated between multiple levels of the company.

• Learned about corrugated fiberboard and its recycling process. • Helped install pieces of machinery, including a vibrator screen, a refiner, and a thickener.

• Assisted in making procedures for companies who wanted to obtain an ISO 9001 certificate. • Gained experience with meeting deadlines.

Performed nanoindentation and SEM imaging on steel samples printed using Selective Laser Melt (SLM). Learned machine learning and incorporated it to model constitutive equations for shape memory polymers. Derived and programmed constitutive equations for Shape Memory Polymers (SMPs). Mathematically modeled interfacial fracture in SLM printed materials. Gained experience with synthesizing polymers and performed thermomechanical analysis on them. Investigated mode-II crack propagation in self-healing SMPs as an adhesive. Did a series of characterizations as well as various types of thermal, rheological, and mechanical testing on SMPs. Helped many undergraduate and Ph.D. students, as well as postdoctorate fellows, with different aspects of their research.

Developed a novel discrete dislocation dynamics simulation that outperforms the current models by an order of magnitude in computational efficiency. Expanded my knowledge in materials science and dislocation dynamics. Attained expertise in computational mechanics and optimizing numerical codes. Improved my presentation skills.

Developed dynamics equations/modeling for a 3D snake robot (sidewinding motion). Coordinated a team of 7 people to build and run the 3D snake robot; the robot reached the final round in the senior demo league in the international RoboCup competition in Tehran, Iran, for two consecutive years. Attained expertise in control, soft computing, and robotics. Defined two undergraduate senior design projects and mentored to meet the objectives.

Research: Optimization of a Composite Pressure Vessel using ANSYS Side research projects: Health Monitoring Co-Op projects: Manufacturability of a gas spring Stress analysis and suggestion of an alternative for the polymer used in the oil pressure sensor of a car Notable course project: Stress and fatigue analysis of an automobile (Samand) shaft under dynamic loading