Founder focused on unmanned and autonomous systems for defense and dual-use applications.
Explore my work
As a child, I was fascinated by airplanes and helicopters—and how they connected people across vast distances. That curiosity led me into aerospace engineering and eventually to a PhD at the University of Michigan.
My work grew beyond aircraft design. I led research proposals, brought together teams, developed engineering software, and won new customers. Through customer discovery, I also saw how conversations could reveal opportunities that weren’t apparent from the technology alone. I became increasingly interested in the whole undertaking: understanding the need, making the business case, and bringing the right people together to deliver.
That’s the perspective I’m developing further at Berkeley Haas and bringing to my work as a founder. Today, I’m focused on unmanned and autonomous systems, with an emphasis on defense and dual-use innovation.
For Class 1–2 UAVs, changing wing shape changes airflow, structural loads, and how the aircraft flies. Our work brought those questions together. Discussions with Army personnel led us to include flight trajectory alongside wing design in Phase II.
I led proposal development end to end, directed a six-person industry–academic team, and developed a Python framework delivered to Army Research Laboratory.
Our initial focus was aerodynamics and structures. Continued discussions with Army personnel revealed that flight trajectory also needed to be considered. That insight shaped Phase II: optimizing wing design and how the aircraft flies together.
Engineering capability needs a customer who values it. Through networking and direct outreach, I brought in new aircraft design and performance analysis work. I also delivered engineering analyses for clients developing advanced aircraft configurations.
I led the technical proposal for an approximately $125K NASA SBIR award and researched how to optimize a distributed-electric-propulsion aircraft’s airframe and flight controls together.
I developed a simulation of helicopter approach and landing on a moving ship deck, bringing together airwake, deck motion, flight dynamics, controls, landing gear, and ground effect.
Safa A. Bakhshi, Shugo Kaneko, Joaquim R. R. A. Martins, Abhinav Sharma
AIAA Aviation Forum
Abhinav Sharma, Jeffrey D. Keller, Joaquim R. R. A. Martins
AIAA SciTech Forum
Abhinav Sharma, Ashwani Padthe, Peretz P. Friedmann
Journal of Aircraft