Hi, I’m Zach Schmidt.
I’m a Mechanical Engineering student at The Ohio State University with a passion for rapid prototyping, product development, and hands-on problem solving.
Through leadership roles at Buckeye Solar Racing working on their newest vehicle, Surya, and my internships at Battelle, I have learned how to turn this passion into functional products through iterative design, testing, and manufacturing.
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
— Arthur C. Clarke
Battery Pack Design for Surya
In my time as Battery Lead as well as my time as Engineering Director, I worked on the design of the vehicle’s battery pack. This included initial concept generation, preliminary design, modeling, as well as conducting design reviews of finished components before assembly.
Suspension Design for Surya
As Engineering Director at Buckeye Solar Racing I led the ground-up redesign of the front and rear suspension after the existing geometry proved to be incompatible with the other vehicle components. My role involved mentoring, CAD modeling, material selection, and manufacturing planning.
Systems Engineering for Surya
As Engineering Director for Buckeye Solar Racing, I led the transition of our newest vehicle, Surya, from preliminary design through manufacturing and systems integration. I coordinated structural and electrical teams, conducted design reviews, managed procurement, resolved interface conflicts, and provided engineering oversight across the vehicle.
Air Piston
As a part of my Introduction to Design in Mechanical Engineering class at OSU, I had the opportunity to fabricate and test a pneumatically driven piston.
Automated Succulent Pot
As a combination of a gift and class project, I designed, programmed, milled, and assembled an automated succulent pot. The device measures temperature and soil moisture content to determine when to water the plant as well as provide information via an integrated display.