Uma Iyer

MY BACKGROUND

Hello, thank you for checking out my portfolio!

My name is Uma and I am a fourth-year undergraduate student studying Mechanical Engineering at UC Irvine! My purpose for pursuing this career is to develop all of the logic and problem-solving skills I would need in various applied engineering fields such as fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, heat transfer, structures, etc. so I am equipped to design and build solutions that ultimately help human beings. Whether it be improving humans' well-being through product design in the medical industry, testing aerospace systems to further our collective curiosity as humans on space exploration, or utilizing science and creativity in engineering to further environmental stewardship, I am constantly eager to engage in opportunities to exercise learned skills and better humanity.

ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE

My academic experience in university can be described as an intellectual and creative exploration period. 

Research

In my first year, I was able to develop basic wet lab skills by volunteering in an Ocean & Climate lab in the Earth System Sciences department at my university, where I was able to gain my first insight into notetaking, observation, and documentation skills in a lab as a classified various ocean sediment samples/species. I later on explored my curiosity for environmental engineering through the Environmental Chemistry & Technology lab in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department, where I was able to further my lab skills through trial conduction and developing experimental procedures. Still in the realm of Civil and Environmental Engineering, I joined the REMADE Research Group where I was able to advance my scientific collaboration skills, working with PhD students to produce a life cycle analysis literature review. Currently, I am actively performing research in the National Fuel Cell Research Center, where I am implementing the culmination of my acquired lab skills and advancing it through studying and applying theoretical knowledge to hands-on experimentation through iterative testing. 

Projects

Alongside research opportunities, I have been able to explore hands-on projects that tangibly reflect the knowledge I have gained in my classes. Being a part of the CubeSat Team, specifically the structures sub team allowed me to experience interdisciplinary collaboration, working with power/electrical systems, avionics, and operations to meet requirements across different sub teams. I later joined the FSAE Solar Car Racing Team which provided me the opportunity to grow these teamwork skills and also experience new technical skills including composite manufacturing and creating CAD assemblies to integrate with the work of other sub teams. Currently, I am part of the UCI Rocket Project Liquids Team, where I have been able to expand my logical thinking and on-the-spot problem solving skills as a test engineer and propulsion lead engineer.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Over the summer (2025), I was able to engage in more multidisciplinary work as a Test Engineering Intern at Blue Origin. Collaborating with engineers on different test stands, launch vehicle engineers, ground systems design engineers, avionics engineers, and technicians allowed me to evaluate my work from multiple perspectives and approach the design process more wholistically. 

Moreover, the objective of this portfolio is to showcase some of the projects I have been involved in throughout my college career so far, as well as further explore the experiences presented on my resume. I hope you learn something cool!