Chris Al-Rahi

Open to co-op & internship opportunities

Hello, I'm Chris Al-Rahi

Mechanical Engineering & Computing Technology student at the University of Ottawa

Co-op · graduating April 2027 · Ottawa, ON

Resume (PDF) LinkedIn Email
Chris Al-Rahi

Projects

A mix of co-op work projects, school design projects, personal builds, and things I fixed along the way.

View my slide deck
The ruggedized VPX electronics chassis behind the liquid cooling redesign

Work Curtiss-Wright · 2025

Liquid-Cooled Chassis Redesign

I reworked the liquid cooling geometry of a ruggedized electronics chassis to see if cheaper machining methods could hold the same thermal performance.

My role
I redrew the cooling paths in CAD around cheaper machining processes, then ran Flotherm simulations to compare the new geometry against the original.
Outcome
A manufacturable, lower-cost layout the team could build against. Alongside it I ran thermal and environmental testing on nine conduction-cooled products.
  • Flotherm
  • Thermal design
  • CAD
Chris Al-Rahi presenting the aspirated and shielded RTD sensor research poster at CanmetENERGY

Work CanmetENERGY · Renewable Heat & Power · 2025

Aspirated & Shielded RTD Sensor

Air temperature readings inside the SolarSteam enclosure were being thrown off by radiation, so I built a shielded sensor that slides up and down to sample at any height.

My role
I designed the shield in SolidWorks, sized the aspiration from the literature, and ran the accuracy testing myself.
Outcome
Live temperature accuracy improved by more than 30%, and I presented the work as a research poster.
  • SolidWorks
  • Instrumentation
  • Field testing
The inverted pendulum rig: a belt-driven cart running on a 0.5 metre linear rail
SolidWorks assembly of the pendulum cart, rail, motor, and electronics enclosure
Step response plots from tuning the PID controller at three proportional gains

School Control Systems

Inverted Pendulum

A belt-driven cart on a 0.5 m rail that balances a rigid pendulum upright, with a rotary encoder reading the angle and nothing telling it where the cart is.

My role
I designed every 3D printed part on the rig, sourced all the parts, optimized the electronics layout, and helped tune the PID controller.
Outcome
A closed-loop system that holds the pendulum upright and recovers from disturbances.
  • SolidWorks
  • Arduino (C++)
  • PID control
  • 3D printing
Exploded view of the two-stage gear reducer assembly
CAD render of the gear reducer with the casing shown transparent
Top level assembly drawing of the gear reducer with its parts list

School Machine Design

Two-Stage Gear Reducer

A 9:1 reducer for an industrial conveyor drive, taking 6 hp at 400 rpm down to 45 rpm.

My role
I sized the two-stage gear reduction and ran the bending and moment failure analysis, and I designed every part in the assembly except the shaft.
Outcome
A sealed unit validated for a five-year service life, with a full drawing package to go with it.
  • SolidWorks
  • Gear design
  • Failure analysis
  • Engineering drawings
Isometric CAD render of the turbine blade mold polisher gantry system

School MCG 2101

Turbine Blade Mold Polisher

A pneumatic gantry system that polishes 9-metre wind turbine blade molds automatically, replacing a job that used to be slow, inconsistent, and physically demanding to do by hand.

My role
I helped design the mechanical layout and motion system: the gantry, the yoke, and the spring-connected polishing plates that conform to the curved mold surface.
Outcome
We finished with a complete CAD assembly, a full drawing package, and an interactive 3D model of a system that keeps constant polishing pressure across a complex curved surface.
  • SolidWorks
  • Engineering drawings
  • Pneumatic actuation
3D model (Sketchfab) Video Report (PDF)
The Beer Goggles team with the fermentation-monitoring prototype

School Beyond the Pale Brewing

Beer Goggles

A gravity and temperature monitoring system we built for Beyond the Pale Brewing. It takes specific gravity and temperature readings right from the fermentation tank, so the brewers don't have to sample by hand.

My role
I led our team of three and handled the mechanical integration, sensor calibration, and the Arduino code that ties it all together.
Outcome
The final prototype read specific gravity within ±0.1 across three rounds of designing and testing, and we handed it off with a full user and product manual.
  • Arduino (C++)
  • Load cell + ultrasonic sensing
  • SolidWorks
  • 3D printing
MakeRepo Manual (PDF)
Assembled greenhouse climate controller with sensors and wiring

School Embedded Systems · ELG 3336

Greenhouse Climate Controller

An automated climate control setup my partner and I built to monitor temperature, humidity, light, and air quality, and correct the environment on its own.

My role
We designed the system together and I coded the full setup: reading the sensors, processing the data, and switching the fan or lights whenever something went out of range.
Outcome
A low-cost, modular controller that kept the environment stable without anyone touching it. There's a working demo on video.
  • Arduino (C++)
  • DHT22 / BH1750 / MQ-9 sensors
  • Circuit design
Demo video Report (PDF)

More projects, builds & repairs

A couple more school projects, plus things I've built and fixed on my own time.

Mobilitray prototype clipped onto a posterior walker

School GNG 2101

Mobilitray

A foldable tray that clips onto posterior walkers so users can carry things without giving up the walker's stability. It carries five pounds, held up in user testing, and folds flat when it's not in use.

  • SolidWorks
  • 3D printing
  • User testing
MakeRepo Demo Manual (PDF)
Balsa wood truss bridge built for load testing

School CVG 2140

Balsa Truss Bridge

A balsa wood truss bridge we designed by hand using a hybrid Pratt-Warren layout, then built and load tested. It hit a load-to-weight ratio of 292.5.

  • Structural analysis
  • Load testing
Report (PDF)
Cracked car fender before repair Fender during sanding and painting Repaired fender with colour-matched finish Finished fender reinstalled on the car

Personal

Car Fender Repair

The fender was cracked, so I repaired it myself. Filled and sanded the panel, matched the paint, and refit it on the car.

  • Surface prep
  • Finishing
Opened pool heater during component-level repair

Personal

Pool Heater Recovery

The pool heater died, so I traced the fault down to the board, repaired it, and got it running again without a service call.

  • Multimeter diagnostics
  • PCB rework
Hot-tub heater element during replacement

Personal

Hot-Tub Heater Repair

Tracked down an electrical fault in the hot tub's heating circuit, sourced a compatible element, and installed it back into the piping.

  • Diagnostic testing
  • Circuit inspection
Foldable ping-pong table top mounted on a pool table

Personal

Foldable Ping-Pong Table

Designed and built a fold-away top that turns our pool table into a ping pong table in seconds.

  • CAD
  • Fabrication
  • 3D printing

Experience

Three co-op terms so far, split between defense electronics and renewable energy research.

Curtiss-Wright Defense - Mechanical Engineering Intern

Sep–Dec 2025 · Ottawa

Assembled and validated 8 ruggedized electronics chassis, ran environmental and thermal reliability testing on 9 conduction-cooled products (over 4,000 insertions and 80+ thermal cycles), and used Flotherm simulations to help guide liquid-cooled hardware design.

CanmetENERGY (NRCan) - Research Assistant, Renewable Heat & Power

May–Aug 2025 · Ottawa

Tracked down why a solar tracker was stuck at ±15° and redesigned the mechanism to restore its full ±40° range. Also built a height-adjustable shielded sensor system that improved live temperature accuracy by more than 30%.

CanmetENERGY (NRCan) - Research Assistant, Alternative Energies Lab

Jan–Apr 2025 · Ottawa

Designed four ventilation and mechanical CAD layouts across three heat pump projects, and automated the performance analysis with VBA to cut processing time by about 90%.

BASc Mechanical Engineering + BSc Computing Technology (Co-op)
University of Ottawa · April 2027 · Dean's Honour List

Download Resume

About

Here's a little more about me!

I'm Chris, a mech eng and comp tech student at uOttawa. Honestly, I just like building things. School design projects, repairs around the house, random ideas I want to try in SolidWorks, whatever it is, I like getting my hands dirty and figuring out how things work. That's pretty much what this whole site is.

Outside of that, you'll usually find me at Muay Thai, playing volleyball, reading, or planning my next trip somewhere new. I'm always up for connecting, so if anything here catches your interest, reach out anytime!

  • Muay Thai
  • Travel
  • Volleyball
  • Reading
Chris Al-Rahi

Contact

Hope you enjoyed looking around. If anything caught your interest, don't hesitate to reach out!

chris.alrahi@gmail.com LinkedIn GitHub

Or fill out the form, all messages go straight to my inbox.