Aita Sharifi

Mechanical engineering, UC Irvine

Aita Sharifi

I study mechanical engineering at UC Irvine's Samueli School of Engineering, and since June 2026 I have been an Additive Inspection Intern at GE Aerospace in Cincinnati.

My projects run from micrometers to meters. I modeled a MEMS comb drive actuator as an NSF REU researcher at UT Austin; I am a chassis engineer on Shear Force, ACE Robotics' 30 lb combat robot, where I worked on the wheels, their molds and the titanium armor supports; and I am helping restore the rudder of a WWI-era Curtiss JN-4D.

Currently: Additive Inspection Intern @ GE Aerospace
See my workEmailLinkedIn
Aita Sharifi, smiling, in a brown ACE Robotics polo on outdoor steps
Degree
B.S. Mechanical Engineering
School
University of California, Irvine

Experience

Where I have worked

Industry and research

  1. Jun 2026 – Present

    Cincinnati, Ohio

    GE Aerospace

    Internship

    Additive Inspection Intern

  2. Jun – Aug 2025

    Austin, Texas

    The University of Texas at Austin

    NSF REU, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering

    Research Intern

    In summer 2025 I was a research intern in the Nanoscale Design and Manufacturing Laboratory, working with Dr. Michael Cullinan and Andrew Gray on a MEMS electrostatic comb drive actuator for mechanical neural networks.

    I built an analytical model in MATLAB, ran parameter sweeps and ANSYS simulations to see how the design parameters trade off force, displacement and natural frequency, and used the results to refine the actuator geometry in SolidWorks within the lab's fabrication constraints.

    • Analytical modeling
    • Parameter sweeps
    • Simulation
    • CAD for fabrication
    • MATLAB
    • ANSYS
    • SolidWorks
    MEMS comb drive actuator: Electrostatic actuator for mechanical neural networks

Engineering teams

  1. Jan 2025 – Present

    Irvine, California

    UCI ACE Robotics

    Anteater Combat Engineering, UC Irvine's combat robotics team

    1. Chassis Engineer, 30 lb combat robot (Shear Force)

      Jan 2026 – Present

      Wheels and the molds they are cast in, drivetrain calculations, and manufacturing, including grinding the titanium armor supports.

    2. Chassis Engineer, 12 lb combat robot (Antihilator)

      Jan 2025 – Jan 2026

      Helped design, prototype and refine a 12 lb robot with a vertical kinetic weapon. I redesigned mechanical parts such as the drivetrain in SolidWorks for durability and manufacturability, and turned CAD models into parts we could machine.

    • Wheels and molds
    • Drivetrain
    • Manufacturing
    • Design for manufacture
    • SolidWorks
    Shear Force: 30 lb combat robot

  2. Apr 2025 – Present

    Irvine, California

    Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum

    Aircraft restoration

    Rudder Subteam Member

    I work with engineers and aviation historians to restore the rudder assembly of a WWI-era Curtiss JN-4D “Jenny” for public exhibition. My part covers structural analysis, dimensional work, material selection, manufacturability and safe handling practices for preservation.

    • Structural analysis
    • Material selection
    • Preservation
    Curtiss JN-4D rudder: WWI-era aircraft restoration

  3. Jul 2025 – Jun 2026

    Irvine, California

    UCI Solar Airplane Project

    Student-built solar-powered aircraft

    Aerodynamics Engineer

    I worked on the aerodynamic design and analysis of UCI's solar-powered aircraft: airfoil and wing design, aerodynamic optimization and performance analysis aimed at flight efficiency, together with the structures, propulsion and controls teams.

    • Airfoil design
    • Wing design
    • Performance analysis
    UCI Solar Airplane: Aerodynamics for a solar-powered aircraft

Leadership and service

Outside the lab

Earlier: high school research and music2019 – 2022

  • Army Educational Outreach Program, University of Southern California

    1. Research Intern

      Jun – Aug 2021

      • Applied data science to secure aggregation methods in federated learning: identified patterns in privacy leakage and contributed to strategies for reducing privacy risk, with a focus on multi-round federated learning.
      • Presented my findings to advisors and postdoctoral researchers.

  • Oak Park High School bands

    50%fewer performance errors in the marching band saxophone section

    1. Principal Alto Saxophone, Jazz Band

      Aug 2019 – May 2022

      • Led my section and performed more than 10 featured solos in concerts.

    2. Saxophone Section Leader, Marching Band

      Jul – Nov 2021

      • Ran weekly marching technique workshops for the full band and trained 10 new saxophone players; performance errors in the saxophone section dropped by 50%.

    3. Saxophone Captain and Ensemble Representative, Wind Symphony; Band Production Manager

      Aug 2020 – May 2021

      • Ran sectionals and made individual audio tracks for each saxophonist; made seating charts for each ensemble and coordinated the student volunteers who ran concert logistics.

Get in touch

Email is the best way to reach me.

aitas@uci.eduLinkedIn