Professional
Academic & Professional Background
Aerospace engineering MSE. Undergraduate focus on aerodynamic analysis and aircraft design; graduate focus on aerodynamic design, multidisciplinary design optimization, and air transportation system management.
I grew up in China, went to high school at UWC Maastricht in the Netherlands, and came to the United States for university, studying aerospace engineering first at Purdue and then at the University of Michigan. Three countries and three education systems taught me to find my footing quickly in unfamiliar languages and places.
What interests me is the whole chain of flight, and I have worked hands-on at three levels of it:
- eVTOL Co-founded a GoAERO team and lead the overall design of a multirotor rescue drone that can carry one person; researched drone route planning and beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations with Joby and Detroit Metropolitan Airport
- General aviation I hold a US private pilot licence and understand the rules and procedures for operating across different classes of airspace, from towered to non-towered airports. Flight training also shaped how I work: professional, rigorous, and responsible for safety — no item on the checklist gets skipped
- Commercial aviation Fuel system fault diagnostics for the LEAP-1A engine at GE Aerospace, and the C919 test and validation platform at COMAC
The greatest thing my years of study have given me is the ability to learn fast: in any area I am curious about or need, I can quickly find the core ideas and get done what I set out to do. I have also pushed myself to learn AI tools, and I have built a number of projects with AI vibe coding — from the route planning web tool to the website you are reading now. All of it adds up to the ability to solve problems.
Education
- Aug 2025 – Dec 2026
University of Michigan
MSE, Aerospace Engineering
GPA 4.0 / 4.0
- Aug 2021 – May 2025
Purdue University
BSc, Aerospace Engineering
GPA 3.67 / 4.0
- Aug 2019 – May 2021
UWC Maastricht (Netherlands)
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP)
Relevant coursework
- Aerodynamic Design
- Multidisciplinary Design Optimization
- Air Transportation System Management
- Computational Fluid Dynamics
- Aeroelasticity
- Thermal Analysis
- Structural Design and Analysis
- Turbojet and Turbofan Engine Design
- Rocket Propulsion
- Compressible Flow
- Flight Vehicle Control
- Signals and Control
- Microeconomics
- Business and Entrepreneurship
Selected experience
- InternshipJul – Aug 2026
GE Aerospace
Engine fuel system diagnostics
The LEAP-1A is one of the main engines on the Airbus A320neo family. Its fuel nozzle flow divider valve has an alert that fires when the system suspects a fault — but many of those alerts were false alarms, and each one meant extra troubleshooting and maintenance cost for the airline. I went back through every alert from the previous two years, rebuilt the criteria for when a part must be replaced, when it can stay in service, and for how long, and then replayed historical fleet data to validate the new logic.
False alarms cut by 40% · Ranked first of 8 interns
View project → - CompetitionMay 2024 – present
GoAERO Prize
Co-founder · Overall design and competition strategy
GoAERO is a multi-year international competition to build emergency response flyers that can reach disaster zones and carry people out. Aircraft are designed for a single occupant, and in the finals a 57 kg manikin rides in place of a person. Our entry is a multirotor rescue drone with a one-person payload. As co-founder, I lead a team of more than 20 people and own the overall design and competition strategy: setting the concept of operations and design requirements from the mission rules, comparing energy source options, generating and down-selecting configurations, sizing the aircraft and predicting its performance, and deciding how to trade performance across the missions. I also defined the interfaces between the mechanical, electrical, and energy systems and ran staged design reviews so the sub-teams could work in parallel.
Team received the NASA Innovation Award
View project → - InternshipMay – Jul 2023
COMAC
C919 test and validation platform
Before an aircraft ever flies, many of its systems are validated again and again on ground-based engineering simulators and test rigs. I supported the day-to-day operation and maintenance of the C919's platform, updated the engine and high-lift system (flaps and slats) models in C++ so the simulation matched design performance, and streamlined how the platform is configured.
Test throughput up 20%
View project → - ResearchAug 2025 – Jun 2026
Joby × Detroit Metropolitan Airport
UAV route planning research
Joby Aviation builds electric vertical takeoff and landing air taxis. This research asked a simple question: if drones are going to fly near a major airport, how should their routes be planned so they are both safe and compliant? I independently built a web tool that lets you place waypoints on a map, generates flight trajectory files automatically, and replays them on a 3D globe. So that trajectories were not just a few straight segments but paths an aircraft could actually fly, I also designed a dynamics simulation and trajectory generation method. Finally, working against FAA airspace and airworthiness regulations, I proposed a beyond-visual-line-of-sight concept of operations.
Accepted to ICAS 2026 as second author
View project → - CompetitionAug – Dec 2024
Design Build Fly
Purdue senior design competition · Fixed-wing UAV
Purdue's senior design competition, in which each team designs, builds, and flies a fixed-wing drone from scratch. I was responsible for a modular payload bay with quick-release mechanisms for fast payload swaps, and every structural weight-saving proposal I made was adopted.
First place in mission, design, and innovation
View project →
Skills
CAD and mechanical design
- SolidWorks (parametric modelling, assemblies, drawings)
- Siemens NX
- Modular mechanisms and quick-change interfaces
- Airframe fabrication and assembly, including 3D-printed parts
Structural and thermal analysis
- Finite element analysis
- Multi-case load iteration
- Mass reduction and stiffness compensation
- Thermal analysis
- Dynamics and vibration
Fluids and simulation
- ANSYS Fluent
- Structured / unstructured mesh generation and verification
- Transonic and shock flows
- Vortex lattice methods
- OpenAeroStruct
- ADflow
- Xfoil
Optimization and programming
- OpenMDAO (MDF / IDF, SLSQP / COBYLA)
- Gurobi
- Python
- MATLAB & Simulink
- C/C++
- Linux
- Git
- Jira
- Dataiku
Test and measurement
- DAQ integration
- Sensor calibration and fault diagnosis
- Test readiness reviews
- Risk matrices and contingency planning
- Verification and validation
- SOP authoring
Aviation regulation and safety (FAA)
- Part 107 small UAS rules and waivers
- Part 108 BVLOS proposed rule
- UAM Concept of Operations 2.0
- AAM Implementation Plan (Innovate28)
- Powered-lift SFAR
- Safety risk management (SRM) / safety management systems (SMS)
Credentials
- US Private Pilot Licence (PPL)
- EBEC Python certification