Samarth Rastogi

The problem usually turns out to be an energy problem.

Purdue BS/MS Mechanical Engineering
KTH Stockholm Exchange
Honors College

Who I am

I work on thermal and energy systems, and I like the part of engineering where you build the thing and find out whether it holds up — not just model it. Most projects start the same way: the problem looks like one thing, and turns out to be an energy problem underneath.

I led ThermOcean, a marine-energy desalination platform that ran on the ocean's own temperature gradient and cut projected water cost 51%. I've fabricated and tested hardware in the machine shop, taught thermodynamics as a TA, worked on microsystem packaging, and led the data analysis team at a startup, HUMN Capital.

Finished my mechanical engineering undergrad at Purdue; starting the master's — lately pointed toward where energy meets computing.

Timeline

An engineering record, in order.

  1. May 2026AwardBest Build & Test — DOE MECC 2026Won against 27 teams, validating the team's prototype design and testing rigor.
  2. Apr 2026 – Apr 2026ProjectNCUR 2026Presented ThermOcean's thermocline-driven desalination research — "Utilizing Ocean Thermoclines for Water Desalination" — at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Richmond, VA.
  3. Apr 2026PublicationUtilizing Ocean Thermoclines for Water DesalinationCo-authored and presented at NCUR 2026 in Richmond, VA.
  4. Aug 2025 – May 2026ProjectThermOceanA desalination platform driven primarily by the ocean's temperature gradient, with a solar-thermal boost in the full-scale design. Treating water cost as an energy problem cut it 51%.
  5. Aug 2025 – May 2026ExperienceTeam Lead & Club President, Warsinger Water LabLed 20 undergraduate and graduate researchers across two DOE collegiate competitions; set MECC technical direction and secured $21,000 in staged competition funding.
  6. Aug 2025 – May 2026CompetitionDOE Hydropower Collegiate Competition 2026Second DOE collegiate competition led in parallel; planning aligned with its incoming lead.
  7. Aug 2025 – May 2026CompetitionDOE Marine Energy Collegiate Competition 2026National DOE competition; the team won Best Build & Test honors against 27 teams.
  8. Jan 2025 – Jun 2025ProjectSimulation of Electrical MachinesReverse-engineered an interior permanent-magnet synchronous machine end to end in FEMM, then designed a polyphase induction motor that reached its 9.55 Nm torque target within rounding.
  9. Jan 2025 – May 2026ProjectMicrosystem Packaging Thermal SimulationsFEA of solder microbumps under thermal cycling, a physics-based review of InFO advanced packaging, and chip-level cooling analysis from immersion boiling to heat pipes.
  10. Jan 2025 – Jun 2025ProjectInconel Jewelry, Designed for SLMA design study—not a fabricated build—for Inconel 718 jewelry intended for Selective Laser Melting, using lattices and internal channels enabled by the process.
  11. Aug 2024ProjectMachine Shop400+ students a semester walk in with a drawing and walk out with a part — if the design survives the machine. I'm the person between the two.
  12. Aug 2024 – Dec 2024ExperienceData Analysis Team Lead, The Data Mine × HUMN CapitalLed a 5-person analytics team partnered with startup HUMN Capital, shipping a fundraising-ready MVP in one 16-week semester.
  13. Aug 2024ExperienceStudent Employee, ME Project Machine ShopTrained ME students on manual mill, lathe, and bandsaw; guided 400+ students per semester through laser cutting, welding, and machining.
  14. Aug 2024 – Dec 2024ExperienceThermodynamics (ME 200) Teaching AssistantSupported a 100-student thermodynamics course — grading, feedback on common errors, and weekly office hours.
  15. Aug 2024 – Dec 2024ExperienceStudent Consultant, Frank Lloyd Wright's Samara HouseWorked with the curator to grow revenue and impact through the visitor experience.
  16. Jan 2024 – May 2024ProjectMilestones — Introduction to ElectronicsTwo circuits taken from breadboard to hand-soldered PCB — schematic capture, EAGLE layout, and surface-mount assembly, end to end.
  17. Sep 2023 – Nov 2023Project3D-Printed DroneA 3D-printed drone frame designed under a $150 budget — FEA-lightened, battery sized from motor specs, 3rd of 10 in the ASME competition.
  18. Sep 2023 – Nov 2023CompetitionASME Small Projects CompetitionStudent design competition; the 3D-printed drone placed 3rd of 10 teams.
  19. Aug 2023 – Dec 2023ProjectModular Workstation for Frontline EngineersA folding work surface for the factory floor — 10 kg capacity at 2 kg unit weight, deployed one-handed in under four seconds.