Sumit Chanda

Portrait of Sumit Chanda

I’m a passionate engineer, researcher, and designer who loves building things that work with purpose. Outside engineering, I’m drawn to adventure — hiking, climbing, traveling, and discovering new places, anything that pushes me to explore a little further.

I completed my B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering in 2020 and my M.S. in 2024. I am currently pursuing my Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at UTEP, where I work as a Research Assistant at The Aerospace Center on sustainable energy production, digital twin development, and experimental design.

In case you have any queries, please contact me at sumit.utep@gmail.com

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Affiliations and Engagements

Engagements

  • Team Lead, Special Projects, Sun City Summit Rocket Team.
  • Participant, NASA Lucy SPACE Academy, Proposal Writing & Evaluation Experience, Fall 2022
  • Instructor, CAD for Beginners Course, Gradbunker Online Platform (20 Students), 2022
  • Instructor, Workshop on DFM & Product Development, KUET 2022 (60 Students)
  • Instructor, FEA (ABAQUS) Workshop, 2020 (95 Students)
  • Instructor, Solidworks & AutoCAD Workshop’18 (240 Students)
  • Instructor, Workshop on Basic Programming & Arduino’18

Affiliations

  • Student Member, NAR, AIAA and ASME
  • Level 2 Rocketeer, National Association of Rocketry
  • Vice President, Bangladeshi Student Association (BSA) at El Paso
  • Former President (Founding), KUET Adventure Club
  • Former Chief Policy Analyst, CADers, KUET
  • Former Project Manager, LOOP, KUET
  • Athlete, Mountaineering Club the Quest

I Like creating things

I love the entire process of bringing things to life; from an initial CAD sketch to a working physical prototype on the bench, I’m in my element when designing things. Along the way, I’ve had the chance to build all kinds of cool mechanisms, including a NASA award-winning lunar regolith sampler and functional motorized prototypes like custom bar soap shredders and automated dispensers.

At the end of the day, there’s nothing quite like turning a digital 3D model into real testable things.

I love rocketry!

I love to build and launch rockets. I am part of UTEP’s Sun City Summit Rocket Team. With the team, I have designed and tested a novel mechanical altitude control system (airbrake) that featured 38% improved braking efficiency, with 75% more deployable area compared with traditional airbrakes with the same envelope.

Currently, I am a NAR Level 2 certified rocketeer.

I like flying drones!

I love taking to the skies and capturing cinematic aerial perspectives.

My adventure log