# Madhav Sonkusare: resume

> Mechanical engineer working on liquid rocket propulsion. Junior Engineer in the Technology Team at Thrustworks Dynetics, building in-house tools for thrust-chamber design, engine thermal analysis and nozzle geometry. At MIT Manipal I led the mechanical and propulsion work on a sounding rocket that placed 4th in category at IREC 2025, developed and static-fired solid rocket motors, and published two journal papers on natural fibre composites.

- Location: India
- Email: madhav.sonkusare@gmail.com
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/madhavsonkusare
- SciProfiles: https://sciprofiles.com/profile/madhav_sonkusare
- Page: https://madhavsonkusare.com/resume/

## Experience

### Junior Engineer · Technology Team, Thrustworks Dynetics, Pune

Jan 2026 to Present

- Develop in-house solvers and engineering tools for thrust-chamber design, engine thermal analysis and nozzle geometry, using Python, MATLAB, NASA CEA and ANSYS Mechanical.
- Work with other teams to take designs through numerical simulation, CAD, manufacturing, quality assessment and testing.
- Joined as a Technology Development Intern in January 2026; Junior Engineer since September 2026.

### Deputy Project Manager · Mechanical & Propulsion Lead, Team thrustMIT, MIT Manipal

Sept 2023 to Aug 2025

- Coordinated a 30-member student rocketry team as Deputy Project Manager; owned the airframe, motor mount and thrust plate, avionics bay and mounts, and integration and launch operations.
- VAYUVEGA flew to 29,432 ft on an AeroTech O5500X and was recovered cleanly: 4th of 21 in the 30K COTS category at IREC 2025, top Indian team overall, and 2nd prize worldwide in the SDL Payload Design Challenge.
- Propulsion lead on AGNI, an in-house KNSB M-class motor: after the first motor failed at 1.63 s, the rebuilt motor completed its burn at 9,202 N·s total impulse and 2,163 N average thrust.
- Designed a reusable threaded-closure research motor (sized to ASME BPVC VIII-1, proof-tested at 1.5 × MEOP) to static-fire nitrate propellants calculated at 40% to 75% higher Isp than KNSB.
- Mentored the junior propulsion team on Kali, the N-class motor that flew thrustMIT's Varuna at IREC 2026.

### Research Intern · Advanced Composites Division, CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore

May to Jun 2024

- Studied composite materials with negative-thermal-expansion fillers for cryogenic hydrogen fuel tanks.

## Education

- Manipal Institute of Technology: B.Tech. (Honours), Mechanical Engineering · Minor in Materials · CGPA 9.1 / 10 (2022 to Aug 2026)

## Publications

- [Thermal and Acoustic Properties of Flax and Hemp Epoxy Bio-Composites Fabricated Using Vacuum-Assisted Resin Infusion Moulding](https://doi.org/10.3390/sci8090261) (Sci (MDPI) · 17 Sep 2026 · first author)
- [Comparative Mechanical Performance of Alkali-Treated Unidirectional Flax/Epoxy and Hemp/Epoxy Composite Manufactured via VARIM](https://doi.org/10.3390/sci8060133) (Sci (MDPI) · 9 Jun 2026 · second author)

## Skills

- Software and tools: Fusion 360, SolidWorks, CATIA / 3DEXPERIENCE, ANSYS Mechanical, ANSYS Fluent, NASA CEA, ProPEP, OpenRocket, RASAero II, OpenMotor
- Engineering concepts: Liquid and solid rocket propulsion, Thermal modelling, FEA, Pressure vessel sizing (ASME BPVC), DFMA, GD&T, Propellant casting and static-fire testing, Composite layup and vacuum infusion, FDM / SLA 3D printing, Materials testing (UTM, hardness, wear)
- Programming: Python, MATLAB, C

## Projects

### Hybrid reaction-jet and aerodynamic control of an air-breathing hypersonic vehicle · final-year research

- Simulated control of an air-breathing hypersonic vehicle shared between reaction jets and aerodynamic surfaces in MATLAB and Python; blending reduced peak surface demand where aerodynamic authority was limited.

### Natural fibre composites · flax vs hemp epoxy

- Fabricated vacuum-infused flax and hemp laminates, ran the mechanical, thermal, fire and acoustic tests, analysed the data and wrote the papers: two in Sci (MDPI).

### Solar sail boom deployer · 3rd place, CAST design challenge 2025

- Concept deployer for four CFRP tape-spring booms driven from one spur gear, with spring-loaded tensioners on each coil.

### Wear of rPET and graphene-filled rPET · materials minor

- 18 pin-on-disc tests to ASTM G99 at three loads and three speeds, with optical microscopy of the worn surfaces.

## Other

- Core Committee Member, TechTatva 2024. Organised ESCAPE VELOCITY, a rocket design workshop and bottle rocketry competition at MIT's annual tech fest.
- Courses: 4 NPTEL courses in materials engineering
- Languages: English, Hindi, Marathi