KWKefan Wu
Kefan Wu at the wheel of Olin Electric Motorsports’ Formula SAE car on the test track.
ArduinoTIG WeldingAutoCADTopology Study SolidWorksMATLABFEACFD CNC MillLatheWaterjetCarbon FiberTeam ManagementAI-Assisted Eng

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING / OLIN ’28

KefanWu.

Race-car systems. Robotics. Real hardware.
Designed, built, and tested.

Enter the 3D Studio View all 16 projects Resume (PDF)
Leading 30 mechanical engineersMechanical Lead · Olin Electric Motorsports
FROM THE WORKSHOP
TO THE TRACK. Explore the work

01 / SELECTED WORK

Built to work.

Hover over a project and scroll to see it move.Drag a project’s slider to see it move.
Open it for the full engineering story.

Showing 16 of 16 projects

Steering wheel, column, universal joints and rack in their neutral position.

Olin Electric Motorsports · Design & fabrication

Mk.8 steering system

Closer driver reach; 0.9 kg removed from the bearing cages.

Vine robot pressure vessel with its translucent tube retracted.

Olin Vine Robotics Lab · Research assistant · 2026

Vine everting robot

Pressure-test failures drove reinforcement and a 45-run study.

Perforated cast-iron brake rotor before heating.

Olin Electric Motorsports · Individual project

FSAE Racecar Brake

Design review: 23% less rotor mass, 19% less inertia.

LiDAR scanner with blue printed mounts, guide rods and a plywood base.

Olin PIE · Gantry & calibration

LiDAR scanner

Gantry motion and calibration produced a 2,206-point scan.

Javelin airframe suspended above the studio floor with four propellers.

Individual project · Airframe & integration

Javelin VTOL drone

A built VTOL airframe working toward a 300 km/h target.

Charcoal fabric specimen held between silver grips before stretching.

Olin Vine Robotics Lab · Instron testing

Material property testing

30 tensile specimens and 11 rods supplied measured stiffness.

Assembled AURA swerve module with its wheel, motors and metal structure.

Autonomous luggage robot · Mechanical Engineer

AURA swerve drive

200 lb payload target; 300 lb carried in testing.

Carbon-fiber seat layup at the beginning of the fabrication sequence.

Olin Electric Motorsports · Individual project

Carbon fiber seat

20-ply 3K twill shell with local patch plies; cured, demolded and trimmed.

Perforated 5052-H32 aluminum Mk.7 driver seat.

Olin Electric Motorsports · Design & fabrication

Mk.7 driver seat

Designed and fabricated the Mk.7 seat in 5052-H32 aluminum.

Javelin pressure field and numerical flow paths at the beginning of the flow sequence.

Individual project · PyFluent automation

Agent-based CFD

An auditable Fluent workflow built from 11 real failures.

Pool Sniper launcher with its cue extended before retraction.

Team project · Cue & cue-base fabrication

Pool Sniper

Adjustable cue launcher, working after machining and fit revisions.

Line-following robot with orange wheels and a teal circuit board.

Olin PIE · Individual project

LineFollower robot

33.6% lighter; 18 s lap against an under-15 s target.

Smelly perfume mixer with its white structure and steel guide rods.

Formlabs hackathon · Gantry & actuator design

Smelly

A 2.5-day gantry build exposed an actuator duty-cycle limit.

Finished Telecaster-style guitar at the start of its full rotation.

Individual project · Woodworking & electronics

Telecaster guitar

Raw walnut, CNC routing, and fixtures led to a playable guitar.

Separated guitar education kit before assembly.

Individual project · STEAM hardware

Guitar education kit

About $80 prototype cost; student trials shaped the kit.

Assembled FTC robot with an aluminum lift, red panels and mecanum wheels.

Pioneer Robotics FTC 12589 · Senior Mechanical Engineer · 2022–23

FTC robot

Cone-handling mechanisms for a Massachusetts Championship winning alliance.

Every project has its own story: interactive motion, original build photos, and technical results.

Olin Electric Motorsports Mk.7 race car during track validation
OLIN ELECTRIC MOTORSPORTS / MK.7 ON TRACK

30 ENGINEERS. ONE RACE CAR.

Engineer the system.
Enable the team.

I lead 30 mechanical engineers across four subteams, from design reviews and fabrication to vehicle integration. Previously, I led the cockpit: brakes, steering, and driver fit.

2024 / Engineer2025 / Cockpit Lead2026 / Mechanical Lead
Olin Electric Motorsports

THE INTERACTIVE PORTFOLIO

Step inside
my workshop.

Explore the space. Pick up a project. Look at the engineering from every angle.

Enter the 3D Studio Move through the room · Rotate and inspect the models
The interactive 3D studio: engineering project models on two lit display cabinets, with the résumé on the desk EXPLORE IN 3D

02 / HOW I WORK

Own the whole loop.

Design decisions belong in the shop.
Test results belong in the next design.

Machined steering shafts and universal joints installed in the Formula SAE chassis.
FABRICATED HARDWAREMachined steering hardware
Physical vine robot with a three-partition soft body extended across a workshop bench.
PHYSICAL PROTOTYPEVine robot on the test bench
Bamboo rod bending under the central loading tip of an Instron test fixture.
MATERIAL TESTINGBamboo bending test
03

Measure & refine.

Use calibrated sensors and physical tests to challenge the model.

Python · Arduino · Sensors · Testing

Calibration in practice

03 / LET’S BUILD SOMETHING

What’s next
starts here.

Seeking a Summer 2027 internship in
vehicle systems, robotics, or manufacturing.

kwu@olin.edu
View resume (PDF)LinkedIn