Sajana Ratnayake

Sajana Ratnayake

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Hello and welcome to my website. My name is Sajana Ratnayake and I am currently a recent graduate from Arizona State University where I completed my Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (2019), Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering (2020) and Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (2023). My research focus was about wing design and aerodynamics and my most recent research focusses on the design of high aspect ratio wings (mainly due to my interest in Formula 1 at the moment). Some of my previous work includes the development of wings and methods to improve efficiency and turnaround time for conceptual wing designs by reducing the time spent to synthesize aircraft wings. 

 

I am currently searching for full-time positions starting in 2024 so that I can begin my professional experience in the world. My main interests are in aerospace and automobile industries but I am also curious about new technologies, especially those that focus on optimization, fluid flows, combustion, materials and research and development. 

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Future Plans

My goals for the near future are to work full time starting in 2024. I plan to work in industry for 10 to 15 years so I can understand how engineering works in the workforce and find ways to improve efficiency and turnaround time at my workplace while maintaining the safety and quality standards in the work and design process. Ideally, I want to be working in research and development towards the latter end of my time in industry as this is where my interests lie. 

After completing my time in the workforce, I want to pursue my second passion which is teaching. I expect to come back to college at some point to complete a MEd so I can improve my teaching skills and then start teaching at a leading teaching and research university so that I can pass on my knowledge to the next generation of engineers. My 4+ years as a Graduate Teaching Assistant made me realize that I have 2 passions: engineering and teaching. Because of this, I know that I will return at some point in my long term career to teach the future generation of engineers where I can positively impact the engineers of tomorrow. 

Lead Quality Assurance Engineer/CFD Analyst - PurcellAI

I am currently interning with PurcellAI as their Lead Quality Assurance Engineer and CFD Analyst to ensure that the medical devices manufactured comply with ISO, UK, EU and US regulations. Overtime, this will expand to other regions of the world to ensure that other medical standards are also taken into account. 

In addition, I also work on simulating human airways to study where particle deposition occurs when using our smart inhaler device to ensure optimum particle deposition at targeted regions. This work helps change parameters such as flow rate, filter patterns, nozzle geometry and more so that an optimized device can be manufactured to be used by final consumers.

Graduate Research - Arizona State University

My research in my two masters degrees were focused on aerodynamics of Formula 1 racecar wings and aircraft wings. Throughout this work, I actively used Vorlax for preliminary studies, Microsoft Excel for initial solving processes for verification of concepts, MATLAB to extract and plot data and Python to finally automate the entire process. After my initial solution based on Vorlax, I then build my wing on SolidWorks (or ANSYS if it’s a simple design) and then transfer the model over to ANSYS for final analysis of the synthesized wing. I then use this data to verify how much we can rely on Vorlax for initial wing designs and what the most common issues are when using a Vortex Lattice method based on more time consuming CFD solvers. I constantly design new “solvers” and algorithms to improve the quality of the final conceptual design of wings and to reduce the time taken for these processes so that I can run new wing designs at a faster pace and get results as soon as possible. 

My research on aircraft wings started in 2019 and my research on Formula 1 wings started in January 2022. Both of these concluded in December 2023 when I graduated from Arizona State University with my second masters degree. Throughout my college careers, I participated in many conferences to give talks and published conference papers to make my work available to the aviation community. This also gave me the opportunity to receive peer feedback from researchers around the world with similar interests to mine which helped improve my research further. These works can be found at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics:

  • Low Aspect Ratio High-Lift Wing Design for Automotive Racing Applications
    • https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2023-4311
  • New Approaches to Direct Wing Shape Synthesis using Potential Flow Solvers
    • https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2022-0547
  • An Improved Synthesis Method to Develop Conceptual Design Wing Lofts
    • https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2021-0218

Teaching Experience - Arizona State University

My experience being a Graduate Teaching Assistant for Introduction to Engineering, Engineering for Humanity and Mechanical Engineering Capstone has been an amazing journey where I learned not only how to teach better but also to find new ways to improve the learning experience for students by providing feedback on courses and material being taught. Most of my experience in teaching comes from Introduction to Engineering as this is where I was employed for most of my teaching experience. I was able to assist in class activities and experiments so students can gain a better understanding and knowledge on engineering concepts ranging from engineering drawings, 3D modelling, circuits, programming and human centered design. 

Throughout my time, I have learned to guide students through the troubleshooting process for various tasks so that they learn from the experience as well. I have hosted multiple learning sessions known as Innovation Workshops where I have taught students about 3D printing, laser engraving, computer aided design, tools and safety, career development and learning to stay organized. I am proud to say that I have assisted well over 1000 students as a teaching assistant and have made a positive impact on their lives. 

In addition to being a TA, I was also employed to run the Engineering section of Barrett Summer Scholars at ASU during the summer of 2022 and 2023. I had the opportunity to teach students from 9th through 11th grade about engineering processes with the hopes of sparking more interest in STEM fields by teaching students about the engineering design process, engineering modelling and rapid prototyping methods such as 3D printing and laser engraving. To increase curiosity in engineering, I brought in projects related to Star Wars, Marvel and Jurassic World and kept the theme going each week so that students will be more engaged while learning new material.

Clubs and Societies - Arizona State University

Prior to my work as a graduate student, I made sure I was active on campus by getting involved in engineering clubs on campus. I was an active member in Sun Deville Satellite Laboratory with the CanSat missions where I worked as a mechanical and manufacturing team member to design and build the satellite and mechanisms used to ensure satisfactory deployment and protection of sensitive payloads. 


I was also a member of Sun Devil Rocketry (previously Daedalus) and got hands on experience wrapping model rockets for competitions, designing and manufacturing components for testing and electronics within the rocket, and studies of testing equipment to improve results obtained from experiments. 

Internship - Mercedes-Benz

I also had the opportunity to work with Mercedes-Benz through DIMO in Sri Lanka during the summer of 2017. Through my experience as a Mechanical Technician, I gained a lot of hands on experience but also understood how to design better. I had the great opportunity to work on over 100 cars during this experience where I worked on cars ranging from Sedans, Convertibles, SUVs, Classics and even the Maybach series which come equipped with bulletproof technology, fire retardant systems and other safety devices. I was able to complete routine maintenance on well over 75 vehicles during this 3 month time period but I must accept my favorite part of the position was to diagnose and solve unique problems ranging from air intake system issues, fuel system issues to engine issues (where I even had to completely disassemble and reassemble the engine to inspect and replace components to prolong the safe and efficient usability of the vehicle).

Community Assistant Experience - Arizona State University

And last, but most certainly not least, my experience working with ASU Housing. Throughout my undergraduate career I had the opportunity to work with ASU Housing as a Senior Community Assistant, Community Assistant and Desk Assistant. As a CA and SCA, I learned how to host events to ensure student engagement within the community while providing students a safe and positive environment to socialize with their peers in the university residential community. As a SCA for Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering and Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, I helped supervise a staff of over 35 CAs while maintaining communication with 4 Community Directors and 1 Assistant Director of Housing. 

 

I am also grateful for my experience with ASU Housing as I found many lifelong friends here and also learned how to communicate and manage my time better. In addition to hosting events, I was also responsible for ensuring safety of the community by conducting routine building walks and interacting with students on a regular basis to ensure everyone is succeeding and safe within the campus.