RJ.Richards
Mechanical Engineering · University of Georgia · Dec 2026

Randal “RJ” Richards.
I design it, then I build and test it.

Mechanical engineer working across aerospace optimization, CFD, and hands-on design. This is where the work lives.

Aerodynamics + CFD SolidWorks / Fusion / OpenVSP MATLAB · Python 3D printing
Randal (RJ) Richards.
RJ RichardsMechanical Engineer
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About

I'm RJ, a mechanical engineering student at the University of Georgia, graduating December 2026. I'm drawn to problems that don't stop at the CAD screen, where you have to model it, analyze it, then make it actually work in the real world.

My range runs from aerospace optimization and CFD on a Lockheed Martin-sponsored capstone to running my own business and hands-on field engineering. What ties it together is the full loop of design, build, and test, and communicating the work clearly enough that anyone in the room understands it.

Below are my projects. Work experience is on its own page, and I'm adding to both as I go.

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Projects

★ Viewer's Choice 2026 The Lockheed Martin wing optimization capstone team.

Aircraft Wing Design & Optimization

Lockheed Martin · XQ-58A Valkyrie UAV · Aug 2025 to May 2026

A multi-fidelity workflow that redesigns a UAV wing for less drag at the same lift, built with OpenVSP, AVL, Python (AeroSandbox), and Ansys Fluent. CFD-validated at L/D 21.9, and it won Viewer's Choice at the UGA Capstone Design Showcase. Includes the real optimized airfoils, planform, poster, and code.

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Wind tunnel + CFD The four 3D-printed wind tunnel test shapes.

Wind Tunnel Drag Study

Experimental aerodynamics + Ansys · Aug 2025 to Dec 2025

Built a small wind tunnel and measured drag on four shapes at two speeds, then rebuilt every run in Ansys Fluent. The streamlined airfoil beat the flat plate by more than 30x, the hands-on version of what the Lockheed capstone optimized for.

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School · 3D printing + FEA Four 3D-printed medical scaffold geometries.

3D-Printed Medical Scaffolds

Biomedical fabrication + Ansys FEA · UGA team project

Designed, printed, and simulated porous scaffolds for jaw reconstruction, balancing high porosity for tissue growth against surviving real bite loads. I led the fabrication and material studies; FEA showed a very stiff lattice with stress concentrating at the strut junctions.

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Personal · ongoing A 3D-printed calibration boat.

Learning 3D Printing, Hands-On

Self-directed fabrication · calibration to functional parts

Teaching myself the full fabrication loop on my own printer, from calibration prints to functional parts, and the principles (thermal control, cooling, tolerances, orientation) that turn a CAD model into a part that performs. The first of many builds to come.

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