ROHAAN AHMED
http://individual.utoronto.ca/rahmed rohaan [dot] ahmed [at] utoronto [dot] ca
| Motivation | Education, Training & Distinctions | Personal Skills | Technical Proficiency | Work Experience | Design Projects| Extra-Curricular Involvements |
Please see the About page.
Education, Training AND DISTINCTIONS
+ Bachelor of Applied Science and Engineering - University of Toronto Sep. 2006 - Present
Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Engineering Faculty Website - ECE Department Website
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Courses Taken
Year III
- ECE315 Switch-Mode Energy Conversion
- ECE316 Communication Systems
- ECE334 Digital Electronics
- ECE335 Electronic Devices
- ECE413 Energy Systems and Distributed Generation
- ECE463 Electric Drives
- ECE451 VLSI Systems and Design
- ECE311 Dynamic Systems and Control
Year I and II
- APS105, ECE106, ECE299 Computer Programming, Algorithms and Software Engineering
- CIV101, MIE100 Static and Dynamic Physics
- APS111, APS112 Engineering Strategies & Practice
- MAT196, MAT197, MAT291 Calculus
- ECE190, MAT298 Discrete Mathematics, Linear Algebra and Differential Equations
- ECE115, ECE221 Electricity & Magnetism and Electric & Magnetic Fields
- ECE212, ECE231 Circuit Theory and Microelectronics
- ECE241, ECE298 Digital Systems Engineering & Design
- ECE298, ECE299 Electrical and Software Engineering Communication & Design
- ECE216 Signals & Systems
- ECE243 Computer Hardware Organization and Assembly Language.
+ Awards and Distinctions Jan. 2006 - Present
o Finished 2nd in the University of Toronto Engineering Competition 2009 - Engineering Communication category.
o Ranked 82 percentile of over 6000 contestants worldwide and First in school in the University of Waterloo Department of Physics’ Sir Isaac Newton Physics Contest. Contest Website
o TD Bank Higher Education Award recipient.
o Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation award recipient.
o Henry & Mary Nahrang Bursary Program award recipient.
o Dr. Albert Rose Bursary Program recipient.
+ Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL) Courses May 2008 - Aug 2008
o CANDU Reactor & Process Control - AECL Instrumentation & Control Engineering Department
o Computers in CANDU - AECL Department of Computer Control
o Radiation Protection 4 - AECL
o Workplace Hazardous Material Information System (WHMIS) - AECL
o Quality Assurance Training - AECL Quality Assurance
o Document Review and Comment Procedure - AECL Quality Assurance
o Human Factors - AECL Quality Assurance
+ Strong written and verbal communication skills.
+ Extensive experience with computers and electronics handling and debugging.
+ Well developed interpersonal and team skills.
+ Solid understanding of management through continuous leadership responsibilities.
+ Expert in object oriented programming.
+ Excellent analytical and problem solving abilities.
+ Fluent in written and spoken English, Urdu and Punjabi and familiar with French and Arabic.
+ Able to quickly and efficiently analyze and resolve engineering issues and scientific problems.
Technical and Professional Proficiency
+ Operating Systems
o Windows - 95, 98, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, 7.
o Linux - Ubuntu, Fedora Core, Red Hat.
+ Design Software
o Microsoft Visual Studio - Visual C++, Visual C#, Visual Basic.
o Altera Quartus II CAD - Digital Systems design, testing, simulation and synthesis.
o MATLAB - Finite Element Analysis for Electric & Magnetic Fields, matrix operations and other basic functions.
o PSPICE - Simulation of Integrated Circuits and analysis of microelectronics component (MOSFETs, BJTs, Op Amps etc).
o Google Sketchup - 3D modeling software for architects, civil engineers and game developers.
o Xilinx ISE Design Suite - Digital Systems design, testing, simulation and synthesis.
o ModelSIM - Digital Systems simulation application.
o IBM Rational Test Realtime - Software Verification and Validation application.
o Micro Magic Inc. Sue and Max VLS Integrated Circuits’ schematic and layout design tools.
+ Applications
o Microsoft Office, Access, Visio, FrontPage and Project Professional
o Adobe Photoshop, Premiere Pro and Dreamweaver
+ Languages
o Programming - C++, C. Some experience with C#, Visual Basic for Applications, Java and Ruby.
o Hardware Description Language - Verilog HDL, VHDL.
o Assembly Language – NIOS II (very similar to X86).
o Scripting & Mark-up Languages - JavaScript, HTML.
+ Network & Applications Programming Interface
o Windows (Win32) API.
o Google Maps API
o TCP/IP and Socket Programming in Linux.
+ Professional Accreditations
o Atomic Radiation Worker / Nuclear Energy Worker.
o Member of the Canadian Nuclear Society.
+ Security Clearance
o Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. Reliability Status Security Clearance (and the equivalent Government of Canada Security Clearance)
o Govt. of Canada Controlled Goods Program Clearance (through Aviya Technologies)
+ Aerospace and Defence Engineering Specialist - Aviya Technologies May 2009 - May 2010
o MX-15Di Airborne Multi-sensor Turret Laser Controller firmware and hardware development for L-3 Communications WESCAM Canada, as per the DO254 - Level B Standard
Product and Client Website - Product Family Demo Video - Multimedia Available
- Development of a VHDL based Laser Control System for the MX-15Di Airborne Multi-Sensor Turret implemented on a Xilinx Virtex 4 FPGA (connected to a Xilinx prototyping board). The types of lasers to control include an Eye-safe Laser Rangefinder, Laser Illuminator, Laser Designator and Laser pointer, with an allowance for one additional laser of any type.
- All design, development and testing activities are conducted in accordance with the commercial aerospace standard DO254 - Design Assurance Guidance for Airborne Electronic Hardware, Level B (classified as Hazardous - Failure has a large negative impact on safety or performance, or reduces the ability of the crew to operate the aircraft due to physical distress or a higher workload, or causes serious or fatal injuries among the passengers).
- Design, development, simulation and verification of VHDL Firmware for several different areas of operation; including Power-up Built In Test (PBIT), EEPROM (M25PE40 Flash by STMicroelectronics) Read, Write & Interface, Block RAM Read, Write & Interface and other functional modules.
- Rapid prototyping of control system hardware and FPGA-EEPROM Interface circuitry.
- Hardware and firmware integration for the entire control system.
- Modular, integration and system-level hardware testing of the entire control system, utilizing logic-analyzers and oscilloscopes.
- Soldering and assembling of proto-boards and EEPROM, FPGA pin-mapping, Firmware I/O layout, FPGA-EEPROM interface-mapping and several other non-design activities to enable hardware prototyping, integration and testing.
- Development of Firmware Psuedo-code and design documentation.
o Boeing 787 Dreamliner Fan Motor Control Software Unit Testing/Regression Testing as per DO178-B - Level B Standard for Hamilton Sundstrand USA.
Aircraft Website - Client Website - Multimedia Available
- Conducting Unit Testing and Regression Testing on the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft’s Fan Motor Control System software (part of the Environment Control System).
- All testing activities are conducted in accordance with the commercial aerospace standard DO178B - Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification, Level B (classified as Hazardous - Failure has a large negative impact on safety or performance, or reduces the ability of the crew to operate the aircraft due to physical distress or a higher workload, or causes serious or fatal injuries among the passengers).
- Source Code Review as per customer C Coding Standards.
- Development of unit test cases as per low level requirements specified in the Software Design Description (SDD).
- Debugging and executing unit test cases using IBM Rational Test RealTime Software.
- Updating unit test cases as per the peer review comments.
- Generating Problem Reports for the issues identified during unit testing.
- Review of Problem Reports Disposition from Customer.
o Sukhoi SuperJet 100 Landing Gear & Steering Control Unit Software Integration Testing as per DO178-B - Level A Standard for Safran Electronics Canada.
Aircraft Website - Client Website - Multimedia Available
- Conducting Software Integration Testing on Sukhoi SuperJet 100 aircraft’s Landing Gear & Steering Control Unit software.
- All testing activities are conducted in accordance with the commercial aerospace standard DO178B - Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification, Level A (classified as Catastrophic - Failure may cause a crash).
- Source Code Review as per customer C Coding Standards.
- Development of unit test cases as per low level requirements specified in the Software Design Description (SDD).
- Debugging and executing unit test cases using IBM Rational Test RealTime Software.
- Development of software integration test cases as per high level requirements specified in the Software Requirements Specification (SRS).
- Debugging and executing software integration test cases using IBM Rational Test RealTime Software.
- Updating the unit and software integration test cases as per the peer review comments.
- Generated Problem Reports for the issues identified during unit and software integration testing.
- Review of Problem Reports Disposition from Customer.
- Performed High Level and Low Level Requirements Traceability Review as per Customer Specified Standards.
o Conducted all activities in accordance with commercial aerospace quality assurance standard AS9100 B Aerospace Quality Standards (similar to ISO 9001).
o Examined Pratt & Whitney Turbofan engine designs through documentation and discussions.
o Studied the Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) systems used in commercial engines.
o Experienced working with MIL-STD-498, MIL-STD-1553, ARINC-429, JAUS and AS9100.
o Using Serena TeamTrack, PVCS Version Control and other Project Tracking & Management software.
o Assisting Project Engineer with project management activities for various projects; including project planning sheet updates, project-specific formatting issues etc.
o Participating in weekly status meetings with the Chief Technical Officer, Chief Engineer, Project Engineer and Project Team.
+ Advanced CANDU Reactor (ACR) Product Engineer - Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd May 2008 - Aug. 2008
o Managed, analyzed and helped resolve industry design feedback issues for the new Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. Advanced CANDU Reactor 1000 plant design.
o Extensively trained under the Configuration Management, Instrumentation & Control and Computer Control departments to gain insight into nuclear power plant and control system design.
o Extracted data using SQL and created reports from various databases including the ACR Database (ADAT), the Feedback Monitoring System (FMS), TRAK Action Tracking, the CANDU Operators Group (COG), the Operational Experience (OPEX) and many more.
o Co-authored a corporate-level ACR Feedback Response Report on behalf of the ACR Product Engineering (Configuration & Standardization) Department.
o Authored an Interim Work Report and a Final Work Report for the Configuration Management Department.
o Co-administered the website of all AECL’s ‘New Build CANDU’ reactor designs, including the ACR-1000 and Enhanced CANDU 6 (EC6).
o Created automated solutions for the management using Excel functions and VBA macros.
o Self-learned Visual Basic for Applications and C# through online tutorials and training.
+ Programs and Activities Leader - University of Toronto DEEP Program Jun. 2007 - Aug. 2007
o University ambassador and athletics leader at the DaVinci Engineering Enrichment Program.
o Managed 70-80 high school students each day and engaged them in various daily activities.
o Organised, scheduled and supervised activities and reported them to the management.
+ Technician - CCA Computers Jun. 2005 - Aug. 2005
o Repaired and built customized personal computers for customers.
o Tested, analysed and debugged computers and other electronics, including all PC peripherals.
o Derived a budget and schedule for each project.
+ Founder and Project Lead - Intelligent Autonomous Robotic Systems Sep. 2010 - Present
Team Website Available - Team Sponsorship Package
o Lead the University of Toronto’s first-ever entry into the Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition.
o Participate in the design, development, integration and testing of all critical systems, including:
- Computer Vision - for lane detection and path identification.
- Objects Detection - utilizing a Laser Rangefinder.
- Simultaneous Mapping and Localization (SLAM) - utilizing Differential GPS and optical encoders.
- Guidance, Navigation and Control System - utilizing probabilistic navigation algorithms.
- Joint Architecture for Unmanned Systems protocol - US Department of Defence standard.
- Mechanical design of the vehicle’s chassis and frame.
o Extensively use MATLAB to model systems and determine optimum algorithmic combinations.
o Program Robotic Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing in the C++ programming language.
o Make extensive use of open-source libraries such as OpenCV, Player/Stage/Gazebo, etc.
o Served as Program Manager, responsible for personnel management, scheduling, budgeting, financial plan, sponsorship and logistics.
o Liaison for the team supervisor, Dr. Lacra Pavel, the course administration and all sponsors.
o Designed the team's Sponsorship Package (available here) and the team logo (available here).
o Secured over $6,000 in sponsorship from industry partners; including MDA, BioInsight Inc., High Strength Plates, Atmel, Dassault Systemes SolidWorkds and more.
o Won the Ontario Center for Excellence fund-matching program participation and worked closely with industry partners to fulfill OCE requirements.
+ Team Leader - Web Server Design Project Jan. 2008 - Jun. 2008
Software Design and Analysis Document Available
o Led a team of four engineering students in the design of a Linux based web server in C++.
o Utilized the incremental and modular design models, taking advantage of the characteristics of object oriented programming (encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism and more).
o Implemented the following features in the design:
- Graceful server shutdown.
- Concurrency / Multithreading.
- In-code error handling and logging.
- Load generation and simulation program.
o Devised and conducted an extensive testing cycle during the design phase including modular testing, integration testing, regression testing, white box testing and black box testing.
o Authored a Technical Design Report and presented the design upon completion of the project.
+ Designer - Autonomous Terrain Exploration System (ATES) Jan. 2008 - May 2008
o Designed and constructed the ATES, inspired by the Mars Exploration Rovers, to self-navigate through a winding pathway and a series of barriers.
o Used Assembly Language and C to program a Drive-By-Wire Control Unit (DCU) onto a NIOS II microprocessor to intelligently control the Terrain Exploration Vehicle’s (TEV) movement through a Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART) connection.
o Used two motors to control the TEV’s speed (i.e., rotation speed of the rear axle and wheels) and direction (i.e., angle of the front wheels) and four light sensors to identify impeding objects.
o Maximized the system’s running speed by coding the DCU-TEV interface in Assembly (i.e., timers, interrupts, reads, writes, loops, decisions etc.) and coding the DCU-VGA Interface in C (i.e., displaying the position, velocity, status etc. on a monitor).
o Submitted the code and the schematic diagrams for display at the Ontario Science Center’s Science and Engineering showcase for children.
+ University of Toronto Formula SAE Design Team Sep. 2006 - Nov 2008
Multimedia Available - Team Website
o Member of the Formula SAE team, which annually designs and engineers a formula style race car - ranked 4th of 505 teams worldwide.
o UT08 - Finished 11/110 at Formula SAE Detroit in 2008
- Installed the Electronic Control Unit box onto the car.
- Gained knowledge from senior members in the design and use of embedded microcontrollers and various sensors.
o UT07 - Finished 5/106 at Formula SAE Detroit and 5/69 at Formula Student UK in 2007
- Accurately cut and installed various metal parts onto the car, utilizing various tools and machinery, including saws, grinders and calipers.
o Researched and gathered data on team and car history through online resources, team interviews, old documentation and awards for the new team website.
o Helped promote the launch of a new University of Toronto Go-Kart Racing League.
o Attended meetings conducted by senior team members and alumni to learn safety techniques and gain insight into the project management aspects of engineering.
+ Designer - Multi-Cycle Microprocessor Jan. 2008 - Apr. 2008
o Designed and implemented a basic multi-cycle microprocessor on a Field Programmable Gate Array in Verilog Hardware Description Language using the Quartus II CAD software.
o Incrementally designed the modules (Register File, Arithmetic Logic Unit, Multiplexors etc.), and datapath required to carry out simple read, write, compare and arithmetic operations (ADD, SUB, NAND, ORI, SHIFT, LOAD, STORE etc.).
o Designed a Finite State Machine to implement the Multi-Cycle Control Unit to process (i.e., fetch, decode and execute) instructions from the computer’s memory.
o Conducted functional and timing simulations to test the functionality of the microprocessor.
+ FPGA Game Designer - Digital Systems Design Project Sep. 2007 - Dec. 2007
System Design and Analysis Document Available
o Designed a Duck-Hunt style video game on a Field Programmable Gate Array in Verilog HDL using the Quartus II CAD software, making extensive use of complex Finite State Machines.
o Reverse engineered a Nintendo Entertainment System Light Gun (The “Zapper”) and designed the circuitry required to access a Video Graphic Arrays adapter to enable user interaction.
o Optimized the cost and speed of the required circuitry by conducting extensive research and utilizing Boolean Axioms and Karnaugh Maps.
o Conducted timing and functional simulations to test and model the functionality of the design.
o Authored and presented the instructors with a Design Analysis Report.
+ Designer - Wireless Communication System Oct. 2007 - Nov. 2007
o Designed and engineered a ‘Rube Goldberg’ wireless communication system to transmit 32 different 5-bit signals from a transmitting station to a receiving station more than one meter apart.
o Used motors and lasers at the transmitting station to transmit signals and light sensors to detect incoming signals at the receiving station.
o Programmed two NIOS II microprocessors, one at each station, in the C programming language to perform the following tasks:
Transmitting Station
- Read a message from the keyboard.
- Encode the message in its binary form using a look-up-table (LUT).
- Transmit the binary signal by allowing current to flow through the right motors and lasers.
Receiving Station
- Receive the binary signal input through the light sensors.
- Decode the signal into its original form by using a look-up-table (LUT).
- Displaying the original message on an LCD and VGA Display.
+ Reverse Engineering Analysis - Sony PlayStation One Controller Sep. 2007 - Oct. 2007
Reverse Engineering Report Available
o Reverse engineered a PlayStation One controller to study its engineering design.
o Determined the requirements of each internal component through research, technical drawings and reasonable speculation.
o Studied the original functions, objectives and constraints related to the design and derived the design strategies applied by Sony to meet the requirements.
+ Developer - Student Database Application Jan. 2007 - May. 2007
o Designed a basic student database in the C++ programming language.
o Extensively used data structures and libraries (iostream, string, etc.) to store, change and retrieve information for each student.
o Utilized Linear Sort to automatically sort the list by student number on each new entry, and Merge Sort to sort retrieved lists by either name, date of birth, average grade and so on.
o Used a Binary Search algorithm to retrieve all the registered information about a student given the student number, first name or last name.
+ Developer - TTC Route Planning Web-App with Google Maps API Dec. 2009 - Jan. 2010
o Developed a JavaScript based web-app to automatically determine the TTC Subway route between any two points in Toronto, in order to learn the Google Maps API over the winter break.
+ Developer - Basic Alarm Clock with Win32 API Jun. 2008 - Jul. 2008
o Developed a C# based basic windows alarm clock in Visual Studio in order to learn the Win32 API and practice the C# programming language.
+ Team leader - Engineering Strategies & Practice Design Project Jan. 2007 - May 2007
Multimedia Available
o Led a team of six engineering students in the redesigning an 11,900 sq ft balcony into a student recreation area at the 89 Chestnut Residence.
o Worked for our client, Dean of Residence Ms. Josephine Mullally, under the supervision of our project manager, Professor Uwe Erb.
o Acted as the primary communication link between the team, the project manager and the client.
o Designed and presented a 3D model of the finished balcony using the Sketchup 3D software.
o Authored and presented various documents throughout the design process, including a Project Management & Budget Plan, a Conceptual Design Specification and a Final Design Specification.
+ Designer - Faculty of Applied Science Bridge Design Sep. 2006 - Dec. 2006
o Participated at the University of Toronto Faculty of Applied Science Bridge Design contest.
o Designed a bridge using the West Point Bridge Designer, a program developed for West Point Military Academy’s annual bridge design contest.
o Built a bridge to withstand its own weight (dead load) and the weight of moving traffic (live load) using the least amount of material possible and meeting the safety and cost requirements.
+ Vice President - Agincourt Robotics Association Sep. 2005 - Jun. 2006
Multimedia Available
o Designed and engineered a robot for the FIRST Robotics Competition GTA Regional under the guidance of the Agincourt Rotary Club, finished 24/72.
o Networked with sponsors, the Ontario Power Generation, for technical and financial assistance.
o Fabricated the robot using sheet metal, and installed and tested the remote control system.
+ University of Toronto
o University of Toronto Intramural Rugby - Engineering (Skule) Rugby Team
+ Agincourt Collegiate Institute
o Varsity Rugby - Starting Prop, backup Flanker.
o Varsity Football - First-team Tight End, Second-team Defensive End.
o Wind Ensemble - Played 3rd Trumpet.
o Drama Company - Played Mercutio in a modern re-telling of Romeo and Juliet.
+ Volunteer
o Jam’e Masjid Markham, Ontario.
o Muslim Students' Association of the University of Toronto.
o International Children’s Festival of the Arts.
Last Updated: June 05, 2010 - COPYRIGHT (C) 2010, ROHAAN AHMED. ALL RIGHT RESERVED - Designed by Rohaan Ahmed Powered by Just Web