Northwestern University · Mechanical Engineering BS/MS · Aerospace Concentration

Rodrigo
Diaz

I'm pursuing a combined bachelor's and master's in Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern, with a focus on aerospace systems and manufacturing. I turn analysis into working hardware: redesigned quadcopters that fly, composite rocket structures flown at IREC, and onboard systems tested in competition. My work also includes transient aerodynamics, lunar mission concept development, and research on vibration-assisted metal additive manufacturing.

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Rodrigo beside his completed L1 rocket at the launch field
With the L1 rocket at the launch field.

Engineering Work

Featured Projects

A few of fourteen. Click any project for full details, images, and analysis.

Completed optimized quadcopter

Design · Analysis · Build · Test

Quadcopter Design and Optimization

CFD-informed loading, topology-guided redesign, and complete flight-system integration - 33% lower frame volume, with both the baseline and redesigned aircraft built and successfully flown.

nTop CFDANSYS MechanicalFlight Testing
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L1 Rocket

Independent Build

L1 Rocket

Solo design, build, and launch of a 3" fiberglass H-motor rocket - plus a custom altimeter system and 3D-printed nose cone mount added on top of the base kit to record real flight data.

OnShapeOpenRocketFabrication
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F1 Active Rear Wing Analysis

F1 Active Rear Wing Analysis

Transient sliding-mesh CFD comparing a conventional DRS flap against Ferrari's 230° "Macarena" mechanism - revealing an aerodynamic airbrake spike during actuation invisible to steady-state analysis alone.

ANSYS FluentCFDTransient Analysis
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Mars Rover EDL Fuel Optimization

Mars Rover EDL Fuel Optimization

Constrained nonlinear optimization of entry, descent, and landing fuel consumption across normal and modified atmospheric conditions using COBYLA and SLSQP in Python.

PythonSciPyOptimization
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NUStars Fiberglass Airframe

NUStars · IREC 2026

NUStars Fiberglass Composite Airframe

In-house manufactured fiberglass airframe and Von Karman nose cone through six vacuum-bagged layup iterations, validated with ANSYS FEA and CFD aerodynamic analysis.

CompositesVacuum BaggingANSYS
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Two-Stage Gearbox Design

Two-Stage Gearbox Design

Full AGMA-based design of a 70 kW two-stage spur gearbox - three shafts, four gears, six bearings - each sized with a calculated, traceable margin against fatigue and static failure.

AGMAShaft DesignBearing Selection
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View All 14 Projects ↗

Professional Experience

Work & Research

Mar 2026 - Present

Undergraduate Researcher

FAST-AM Lab · Northwestern University

Rodrigo characterized vibration-assisted wire-laser DED using high-speed imaging and EBSD, validated a flexure-guided fixture in ANSYS Mechanical, and developed a transient Fluent model.

Aug 2026 - Present

Lead Systems Engineer

NASA L’SPACE Mission Concept Academy

Rodrigo led multidisciplinary integration for a robotic lunar south-pole mission concept, connecting subsystem interfaces and science payload requirements through trade studies and risk assessment.

Aug 2024 - Present

Launch Vehicle Engineer

NUStars · Northwestern University

Rodrigo manufactured a composite airframe flown at IREC 2026 and integrated an onboard camera system that recorded test and competition flights for NASA Student Launch 2025.

Jan 2026 - Mar 2026

Engineering Design Intern

Tackform

Rodrigo created 10+ vehicle-mounted components in SolidWorks, developing parametric designs around automotive vibration, fastener load paths, and manufacturing requirements.

Jun 2025 - Aug 2025

Process Engineering Intern

CertainTeed, Saint-Gobain

Rodrigo redesigned date-coder placement across four bagger lines, reducing downtime by approximately 5% and recovering about $2,000 per day in production output.

Jun 2024 - Aug 2024

Data Analysis Intern

City National Bank of Florida

Rodrigo analyzed hundreds of records with SQL, Excel, and Qlik to produce forecasting and cost models for a $16B bank.

Jun 2023 - Aug 2023

Financial Planning and Analysis Intern

City National Bank of Florida

Rodrigo evaluated branch performance and developed turnaround plans addressing operating costs, revenue, productivity, and efficiency.

See Full Experience ↗

Technical Toolkit

Engineering Skills

CAD & Simulation

  • SolidWorks
  • ANSYS Mechanical + Fluent
  • Siemens NX · NX FEA + Topology Opt.
  • OnShape · SpaceClaim

Programming

  • Python · SciPy · NumPy · SymPy
  • MATLAB
  • SQL
  • Plotly · Matplotlib

Manufacturing

  • Composite Layup & Vacuum Bagging
  • 3D Printing
  • Wire-Laser DED
  • Binder Jetting
  • Bridgeport Mill
  • Waterjet
  • Laser Cutting

Analysis Methods

  • FEA · CFD
  • Topology Optimization
  • AGMA · DE-Goodman Fatigue
  • DFMA · ISO Standards · FMEA