Derek Slaughter Email & Phone Number

Blue Ridge, Va, Us

Golden, Co, Us

Courbevoie, Fr

- Simulated nuclear fuel in reactor during seismic and loss of coolant accident events to show margin of safety.- Employed differential evolution to calibrate a nonlinear material model that predicts strain-rate based on thermal-irradiation effects.- Developed automation software to orchestrate creating, running, and post-processing fuel lateral-faulted simulations in an HPC environment.- Performed thermal analysis of a metallic fuel rod with temperature dependent material properties in ANSYS.- Benchmarked fuel models to dynamic test data including frequencies, mode shapes, and impact response.- Implemented adaptive Runge-Kutta time integration method for in-house structural simulation code to debug and resolve simulation stability issues during nonlinear dynamic analysis with contact interaction.- Developed grid plastic deformation models using linear regression and evaluated variable interactions.- Created web-based GUI with Go and VueJS to organize and visualize simulation data with animations.- Used unit and integration testing to perform code validation and verification.

- Profiled, optimized, and parallelized internally developed finite element code to increase performance- Created a finite difference model of a hot steel mill stand work roll to predict transient heat transfer due to contact with hot metal and the resulting thermal expansion profile across the width of the roll- Implemented a C++ software package to tune an existing finite difference model of metal plate temperature- Spearheaded adoption of Python for data analysis, Go for backend development, AngularJS for frontend development, Git for version control, CMake for building software, and Jenkins for integration testing- Designed software solutions, wrote technical proposals, and provided customer support- Analyzed mill historical data to find trends in model errors and propose model improvements to clients- Directed technology adoption to facilitate modernizing products and processes, such as using Python for data analysis, Go for networking applications, Git for version control, and CMake for building software- Developed project budgets and schedules based on time, material, and cost estimates

- Created finite element model of steel mill roll-stack to calculate roll deflection for prediction of strip profile- Developed response surface to capture finite element model behavior for use in online control- Maintained and improved existing metal rolling mill models in C and Fortran on OpenVMS- Used shared memory, databases, message queues, WebSockets, TCP, UDP, and REST APIs to build distributed systems consisting of automation system components, HMI, and external equipment- Developed architecture for web-based interface to rolling mill automation system using Go, HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, AngularJS, and PostgreSQL- Designed, developed, and deployed software for essential, high availability automation systems- Introduced Git version control to internal team and clients and provided tools and process training- Designed and implemented software targeting VxWorks for real-time embedded systems

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Us

- Designed mechanical components and systems for full-motion flight simulators using SOLIDWORKS- Performed finite element analysis of components using ANSYS to determine failure modes- Developed drafting standards and templates for AutoCAD and SOLIDWORKS based on ASME Y14.100- Created a wiki-style knowledge base to collect information across engineering disciplines

- Performed finite element modeling of steel hot rolling process with Abaqus on Linux- Calibrated and validated model against historical data from a client’s operational mill

Blacksburg, Va, Us

- Characterized the properties of InstantGlaze, a silicon-based material, to create a material model- Developed finite element model in Abaqus to evaluate the material's viability as a window sealant

- Performed wing and tail structural analysis for material selection- Developed mold-making, CNC machining and composite lay-up procedures- Build and managed team website

- CAD & Computer Technician - designed tools, parts and shop layouts- Database manager - created MySQL driven inventory, shipping and purchasing database- CNC Machinist - operated CNC three axis mill in production setting

Master Of Science, Mechanical Engineering

Bachelor Of Science, Mechanical Engineering