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Gaurav Shah

Biography

As a child growing up in Pune, India and observing his father, a designer engineer, at work, Gaurav realized early on that he wanted to dedicate his life to mechanical engineering, for "mechanical engineers," Gaurav says, "form the backbone of every industry and develop mechanical systems that help people live better and comfortable lives."

Transferring to the University of Maryland from India in the fall of 2000 to pursue his life-long ambition of becoming an engineer, Gaurav says was a "turning point" in his life, and despite the initial challenges of a new culture and language, he has managed to excel academically at the University of Maryland.

Gaurav's own experience motivated him to help other international students overcome the obstacles of assimilating into American culture through his work as a member of the Student Council of India. As a volunteer for this organization, he assists students in finding accommodations and adjusting to life in the U.S. In addition, as an engineering student, Gaurav also takes pleasure in teaching children from public schools simple science and engineering.

He has developed several projects during his tenure at the University of Maryland that reflect his keen interest in design optimization and methodologies and the Indian electronic industry. He hopes his research will help product development engineers from around the globe improve the manner in which they store their work for future reuse and facilitate their communications.

Gaurav plans to pursue an M.S. in Control Engineering and ultimately establish a firm that builds automatically guided vehicles (AGVs) for special work environments.

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