Nikhil Krishna
Mechanical Engineering & Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania
i like building things that have to work.
i'm studying Mechanical Engineering & Applied Mechanics at the University of Pennsylvania, Class of 2030.
before Penn, at TJHSST, i kept busy:
as a NASA SEES research intern at UT Austin (5% acceptance rate), i proposed a bioinspired PDMS film for passive CubeSat thermal control. Read the paper → i separately researched CubeSat digipeater software at George Washington University.
for ISEF, i built a machine learning framework for space debris surveillance. it placed 4th in Physics & Astronomy and picked up 12 awards along the way. Read the paper →
- co-founded DMV Debate, scaling a peer-taught program to 600+ students across 5 states
- led TJ Space Program as Co-President, directing CAD work on a high-altitude balloon payload
- graduated with a 3.96 GPA and was named a National Merit Commended Scholar
my application to Penn Electric Racing required the rigorous first-principles derivation of a full braking system: a pedal ratio of 6.0, a 0.578″ master cylinder bore, checked against a 1500 N structural load case straight out of the FSAE rulebook. now i'm contributing to the vehicle dynamics team, working toward the team's larger goal of moving the car from rear-wheel to four-wheel drive. Read the design doc →