Raaghav Thirumaligai

Mechanical Engineering
University of California, Santa Barbara

About

I’m passionate about controls, fluid dynamics, and renewable‑energy systems. Having just completed the combined B.S./M.S. program in Mechanical Engineering at UCSB, I am preparing to begin a Ph.D. at UCSB in Fall 2025 focusing on control of fluid‑mechanical systems. Outside the lab I build electric race‑cars with Gaucho Racing and enjoy mentoring younger engineers.

Education

• M.S. Mechanical Engineering, UC Santa Barbara, 2025
• B.S. Mechanical Engineering, UC Santa Barbara, 2025

Experience

• Undergraduate Researcher, UCSB Multiscale & Multiphase Flow Lab — Mar 2023 - Present
• Undergraduate Reader (TA), ME 16 Dynamics — Apr 2024 - Jun 2024
• Vice President & Battery Accumulator Lead, Gaucho Racing FSAE EV — Jun 2023 - Jun 2024
• Senior Capstone Project, Active Reconfigurable Wind Turbine (ARWT) — Jun 2024 - Jun 2025

Additional Experience

• Course Reader (TA), UCSB Mechanical Engineering — Spring 2024 - Fall 2024
• Resident Assistant, San Rafael Residence Hall — Aug 2022 - Jun 2023
• Game Master, Diablo Escapes VR — Jul 2020 - Aug 2022

Skills

• Vehicle mechanical design & accumulator container integration (FSAE EV)
• Experimental instrumentation, automation, and root‑cause analysis
• 3D CAD (SolidWorks, Fusion 360) & FEA simulation
• MATLAB / Simulink modeling and control design
• LabVIEW data‑acquisition programming
• Rapid prototyping: FDM/SLA printing, water‑jet, laser‑cutting, sheet‑metal
• Python ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow)

Honors & Awards

• Undergraduate Engineering Honors Program, 2023-2024
• Dean’s Honors List (College of Engineering) — five quarters
• Undergraduate Research Awards — $3,750 (2024) & $2,500 (2025)

Interests

Cycling on a Specialized Allez, following Formula 1 (long‑time AlphaTauri/VCARB fan), and indie gaming—especially Celeste.

News

• July 2025: Graduated with B.S./M.S. in Mechanical Engineering.
• June 2025: Presented FSAE EV accumulator box design at competition.