Head of Vehicle Simulation · May 2025–Present

Formula SAE vehicle simulation

As Head of Vehicle Simulation for Northeastern Electric Racing, I lead a 15-member team building a high-fidelity full-vehicle model in Simulink and Simscape Multibody. The project integrates suspension kinematics, tire forces, aero, powertrain behavior, and closed-loop driver modeling to support lap time simulation, controls development, and faster design iteration.

SimulinkSimscape MultibodyVehicle DynamicsLap Time SimulationControlsFormula SAE

What this project involved

Led a 15-member simulation team responsible for developing a full-vehicle dynamics model used by suspension, aero, and powertrain subteams to guide design decisions.
Built a high-fidelity multibody simulation in Simulink and Simscape Multibody with 33 rigid bodies and full suspension linkages to capture kinematics, steering dynamics, tire forces, and load transfer.
Implemented physics-based tire, powertrain, and aerodynamic models along with a closed-loop electronic driver model to run lap time simulations on representative track geometries.
Developed a driver-in-the-loop simulation framework for evaluating driver interaction and prototyping vehicle control algorithms such as torque vectoring and ABS.
Optimized solver and model architecture to improve simulation runtime from roughly 1000:1 to 1:1, making the model practical for rapid design iteration.

Key takeaways

Team leadership Managed the simulation direction for a 15-member group working across multiple vehicle subteams.
High-fidelity modeling Captured 33 rigid bodies plus realistic subsystem physics in a multibody environment.
Runtime improvement Reduced simulation runtime from ~1000:1 to real-time 1:1 behavior.
Controls development The model supported driver-in-the-loop studies and early evaluation of control strategies such as torque vectoring and ABS.