Nicholas Cocoves

Background

About Nicholas Cocoves

I've been a motivated engineering student working as an assistant in the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Research Program at UF, becoming proficient in CAD design, vehicle fabrication, and prototype testing of autonomous aviation systems. I have been published in an academic journal for my work on an autonomous sonar-based bathymetric survey drone system, and presented my findings at a UF research symposium. Last summer, I acquired a DoD secret clearance while working for a Raytheon subcontractor developing and testing C++ software using agile scrum methodology for use in the US Navy and Marine Corps' Cooperative Engagement Capability Program. This fall, I've been working as a team leader on a Department of Defense Hacking 4 Defense (H4D) program design project for the US Air Force. I've interviewed and maintained contact with dozens of officers and enlisted airmen at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to gather the extent of the issues they face with C-130J mission readiness due to inability to conduct engine maintenance verification runs resulting from German noise regulation adherence. I've designed an engine testing booth with sound suppression features to facilitate round-the-clock engine runs, and validated my design's effectiveness using computational acoustic propagation simulation software ensuring German regulation compliance. The design is currently pending final budgetary approval for construction at Ramstein. With my experiences in the academic and private defense contracting spheres of aerospace engineering as well as direct interfacing with DoD representatives, I feel confident taking on a wide variety of projects. With significant experience in hardware manufacturing and testing as well as software development, I feel confident tackling a project at all stages of development, and am looking for opportunities for this summer.