With more than 5,000 hours of engineering experience under his belt, college student Rahul Bhardwaj is already giving back to a program that helped give him his start. The Bellevue, Wash., native and Purdue University student has pledged to donate a minimum of 10% of the profits from his “Modulus” wallet Kickstarter campaign to the non-profit group Washington FIRST Robotics.
“I credit my success academically and professionally very much to my hands-on STEM education, and I would like to see others have the same opportunities,” said Bhardwaj.
Bhardwaj got an early start with robotics and engineering in the Washington robotics community as a high school student. Before graduating high school, he interned at Seattle startup PicoBrew, where he gained experience in manufacturing, as well.
Currently a sophomore at Purdue University, Bhardwaj is pursuing studies in both Mechanical Engineering Technology and Robotics Manufacturing Engineering Technology. He contributes his knowledge of robotics to the design of unmanned aerial vehicles as the aero-mechanical co-lead for the Purdue University Aerial Robotics Club.
Meet our latest Geek of the Week, and continue reading for his answers to our questionnaire.
What do you do, and why do you do it? “I love to create and lead. Regardless of what it is, I love the process of coming up with an idea, designing it, iterating it, creating it and then repeating the whole process on an endless cycle. One of the best parts of the creative process for me is working with others and passing on what I know to them and absorbing new ideas and information from them. It is my passion for creation and leadership that drives what I do. From leading my high school robotics team while helping our competitors fix their robots, to launching my own Kickstarter campaign and donating a portion of the funds back to STEM education. I love to create and lead because of the opportunity it presents to accomplish something so much larger than myself.”
What’s the single most important thing people should know about your field? “Mechanical engineering is a field that is incredibly diverse and broad. Literally every physical object that is created in this world requires hundreds of mechanical engineers to design, improve and test. And before those mechanical engineers even came up with the idea for a new product, hundreds of others came up with the machines, tools, materials and processes necessary to make that idea a reality.”
Where do you find your inspiration? “I find my inspiration in the past. When I look back I see all of the amazing things that we have accomplished as a species, and I realize that none of it came easily. For every amazing success there were hundreds failures that had to be overcome. When I fall short of my goal and think of giving up, what keeps me going is the realization that hard work and lessons learned from shortcomings create success.”
What’s the one piece of technology you couldn’t live without, and why? “Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) machines. The average American never sees one though without them so much of what we hold dear would not exist, our phones, laptops, watches all would not be the same. For me they are especially important as without them I would never be able to create so rapidly, or with so few limit creative limits.”
What’s your workspace like, and why does it work for you? “My work space has as much table space and materials as possible. It is designed to let me rapidly try out different ideas and see what works and what doesn’t. Over the years I have learned the expression that ‘to learn you must fail and to learn a lot fail fast.’ I find success in trying things out, testing, then iterating and repeating the process endlessly. My work space enables me to do exactly that.”
Your best tip or trick for managing everyday work and life. “Be patient and trust the process. Everyday work and life can be very intimidating and frustrating, especially when you put in 100% and don’t get the result you want. Though with patience and hard work you can chip away at your goals and ultimately accomplish them, nothing significant comes easy.”
Mac, Windows or Linux: Windows
Transporter, Time Machine or Cloak of Invisibility: Transporter
If someone gave me $1 million to launch a startup, I would: “Develop affordable easy to use CNC manufacturing machines with the ultimate goal of making every home a maker space.”
Your role models: “Russell Wilson is my greatest role model purely because of his work ethic. Despite being a 75th overall 5’11” draft pick Russell is considered to be among the best of quarterbacks. Nothing was given to Russell. He set his sights high and achieved all of his goal simply by trusting the process and giving it his all each and everyday. Everyday I strive to approach my work and studies in the way Russell approaches everything he does.”
Greatest Game In History: Halo
Best Gadget Ever: The iPhone
Favorite App: Touch of Modern
Favorite Cause: STEM education
Most Important Technology of 2015: 3-D printers
Most Important Technology of 2017: Virtual Reality Headsets
Final words of advice for your fellow geeks: “Never settle! Understand that literally everything has room for improvement and innovation. When you see the need for new, more efficient, or more available technology take on the challenge! We advance as a society based on the technology available to us, find what you are passionate about and help move society forward.”
