Kendall Knight Email & Phone Number

Charlotte, Nc, Us

Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Area

My work as a PhD candidate focuses on the thermal control and understanding of the additive friction stir deposition process. This process is a novel metal 3D printing process that leverages the severe plastic deformation principle to manufacture forging strength components. I developed several novel in-situ monitoring techniques to determine the 3D thermal state and boundary conditions of the process to begin to design control methods to optimize performance.In addition to my academic work, I lead several projects totaling more than $2 million in funding with a combined team total of five people and three external collaboration groups. Much of the work focuses on leveraging AFSD to repair Naval aircraft structural components. The other portion focuses on in-situ detection of defects in the process using laser acoustic resonance spectroscopy, Bayesian learning, and multi-scale modeling in conjunction with traditional testing and characterization,

Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

I developed an internal simulation pre-processor and monitor that saved ~400 man hours and ~10,000 computation hours per year by allowing tasks to stream for one simulation to the next and by implementing geometry reduction algorithms. In addition, I studied accuracy of internal simulation best practices to understand impact of geometric and material approximations. In doing both of these things I collaborated with the IT department to debug the HPC storage solution for very fast running simulations.

Lynchburg, Virginia Area

I maintained a Department of Energy "L" security clearance to facilitate my role within the Nuclear Operations Group at BWXT. My primary responsibilities included interfacing with quality assurance and subject matter experts to ensure concise communication with the customer, performing engineering analysis on components and processes to spot and correct defects, and designing tooling to improve shop efficiency.

Greensboro/Winston-Salem, North Carolina Area

I was tasked with several major projects in my time at Volvo, both hands-on and analytical. Part of my job was to create an automated leaf spring design program. My final program takes a few parameters and uses non-linear integer optimization to create a spring pack that satisfies the parameters using the fewest number of leaves. In addition, as a group project the other co-ops and myself were tasked with building the factory reference model for Volvo North America's electric truck. This involved sourcing the parts from Europe and all over the US and machining our own parts. I also worked in the suspension, axles, and steering group, solving factory support tickets and conducting Optistruct optimizations of suspension components.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Area

I was involved in safety training and implementation of safety initiatives for Harrisburg Division. I also trained in coordination of track time logistics to complete maintenance and schedule union jobs. My job was to help manage multiple ongoing maintenance projects working with the Chief Division Engineer and Harrisburg Track Supervisor. I spent time working on both the union and non-union side to better understand the entire job.

Lynchburg, Virginia Area

I participated in the Areva Summer institute for Science and Engineering. In the program we gained familiarity with and operated robotic, nuclear inspection tools. In addition, we refurbished the controls for a robotic wrist with and attached pneumatic gripper.

Lynchburg, Virginia

I worked in the planning and construction department and assisted with retrofit of the medium voltage power distribution grid.

Bachelor'S Degree, Mechanical Engineering

Activities and Societies: Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International Baja SAE VT Cyber Security Yu Lab

Education record

Advanced High School Diploma

Activities and Societies: Marching Band, Symphonic Band, Indoor Drumline, Percussion Ensemble, Latin Club