Oct 2023 – Sep 2024

Kanda Industries Inc.

Lead Mechanical Engineer

Kanda Industries Inc. is material technology company focused on high-performance plant-based composite materials in sustainability and energy markets.

Duties

• Supervised the design of a uni-directional fiber composite production line, implementing processes to improve polymer tensile strength and facilitating testing using ATSM Standards.

• Worked with international suppliers in China and India, provided technical support during factory visits

• Assigned as the engineering Point-of-Contact for wind energy, REI, and Motorsport companies.

Learnings

During this internship, I was tasked with supervising the design of a production line to enhance material strength. Coordinating with contractors, we were quick to develop a prototype. However, despite rigorous calculations, testing revealed the production line could only operate at one-third of its intended capacity due to frequent material breakage. To address this, I collaborated with fellow engineers to systematically identify root causes through experiments and implemented recommendations to remedy the problems. Still, it was a blow to my confidence and we suffered delays. This experience vividly taught me that real-world engineering is not as clear-cut as laboratory research, often involving many uncontrolled variables. It also emphasized the importance of building contingency time into project schedules. Ultimately, the experience strengthened my practical engineering and project management skills.