Stephen
Birch
Senior aerospace engineering student with a background in music performance, building flapping wing flight hardware, CFD simulations, and mechatronic systems. Seeking a summer 2027 engineering internship and graduate school.
I started my academic journey studying cello performance at Interlochen Arts Academy. As a musician, I learned that excellence requires relentless practice, collaboration, and thoughtful compromise — every ensemble member contributes to a greater whole.
That same mindset now drives my work in aerospace engineering at Rutgers University. Switching from music to engineering meant adapting to completely different ways of thinking, but it taught me how to quickly absorb new concepts, persist through complex challenges, and apply creative thinking to technical problems.
Today I'm building a flapping wing drone under faculty advisement, running airfoil CFD simulations in ANSYS, tutoring SAT students, and serving as treasurer for a campus organization — always learning, always building.
- Mechanical Component Design
- CAD
- Dynamic System Modeling
- Mechatronic Design & Analysis
- Aircraft/Airfoil Design & Performance
- Finite Element Analysis
- Fluid Simulation
- Additive Manufacturing
- MATLAB Simulink
- Onshape
- Solidworks
- ANSYS / ANSYS Fluent
- PrePoMax
- Microsoft Visual Studio
- Microsoft 365 Suite
- MATLAB
- C
- Python
- LaTeX
Tutoring high school students in SAT Math and Reading & Writing, tailoring instruction to each student's diagnostic results and target score. Developing practice problem sets and review sessions targeting recurring weak points such as algebraic modeling, data analysis, and passage-based grammar, and teaching test-taking strategy including time management, question triage, and process of elimination. Tracking progress across practice exams and communicating performance trends and study plans to students and parents.
Managing university-distributed funds for equipment, travel, and catering. Raised and financed $3,000 for a conference at MIT and negotiated funding for a trip to Carnegie Mellon. Organizing fundraising events and performance opportunities to grow the group's presence on campus.
Pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering.
Studied cello performance, developing the discipline, collaboration, and creative problem-solving that now inform an engineering mindset.
I'm actively seeking a summer 2027 engineering internship and graduate school. Whether it's aerospace or mechanical — I'd love to hear from you.