Mechanical Engineering · Penn State · Class of 2026

Abdullah
Al Otaibi

I build mechanical systems that I can hold in my hands and that work in the real world. I'm finishing my B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at Penn State in December 2026, then joining Saudi Aramco through the CCP scholarship, with a long term focus on intelligent automation in the field.

View Work → Download Résumé
4.00
Major GPA
ΤΒΠ
Tau Beta Pi
Aramco
CCP Scholar
Abdullah Al Otaibi
Abdullah Al Otaibi
01 / About

From the wind tunnel to the wellsite.

I'm a mechanical engineer who likes problems that sit between disciplines, and I don't call a design done until it has been tested, tuned, and made to work on real hardware.

I'm a mechanical engineering student at Penn State University Park, fully sponsored under the Saudi Aramco College Continuation Program and joining Saudi Aramco after graduation. My coursework and projects run across aerodynamics, mechatronics, vibrations, and manufacturing.

I'm happiest when a clean idea has to survive contact with real parts: a 3D mini car body validated in a wind tunnel, a controller tuned on real hardware, or a 3D printed light stand wired up with an Arduino and a servo. I'm Saudi, bilingual in Arabic and English, and outside of class I play competitive table tennis, train kickboxing and Muay Thai, and stay curious about how mechanical systems are designed, from car suspensions to robotic arms.

SolidWorksMATLAB / SimulinkArduino · C/C++ CFDWind Tunnel TestingPID / PD / FSM Control FEM / FEAModal Analysis3D Printing / CADLaser Engraving WoodworkingArabic · English
02 / Experience

Education & trajectory

OutlookDec 2026 →

Saudi Aramco

CCP Scholarship
Joining Saudi Aramco through the CCP scholarship. Long-term goal: building toward the intersection of field operations and intelligent automation, whether through graduate study or applied research.
ResearchSummer 2026

AI Driven Materials & Manufacturing Research

Penn State · Prof. Hongtao Sun (IE)
Selected for Prof. Sun's undergraduate research program on applying machine learning to advanced manufacturing and materials science. Completed Phase 1 training covering supervised learning, neural networks, and data driven modeling techniques.
ProgramSummer 2026

McKinsey Forward Program

McKinsey & Company
Selected for McKinsey's professional development program focused on structured problem solving, communication, and leadership.
HonorSpring 2026

Tau Beta Pi

Engineering Honor Society
Inducted into Tau Beta Pi, the nation's oldest engineering honor society, recognized for academic achievement and exemplary character.
ScholarshipOct 2024 to Present

Aramco CCP Scholar

Saudi Aramco
Full undergraduate sponsorship awarded to top Saudi students worldwide through the highly competitive College Continuation Program, with guaranteed engineering placement.
LeadershipAug 2024 to Feb 2025

Secretary & Event Planner

Penn State Table Tennis Club
Organized community events and recruitment with Competitive Sports staff; represented Penn State at regional tournaments.
ExperienceAug 2024 to Dec 2024

Economics Grader

Penn State Department of Economics
Graded and proctored for ECON 102 under Prof. Dave Brown; provided written feedback to students.
HonorsJan 2023 to March 2024

President Walker Award

The Pennsylvania State University
Awarded the President Walker Award for a 4.00 GPA across 12 to 36 graded credits.
EducationClass of 2026

B.S. Mechanical Engineering

The Pennsylvania State University · University Park
4.00 major GPA. Coursework spanning mechatronics, vibrations, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and manufacturing.
03 / Projects

Selected work

First prototype: lit servo and LED on a Penn State bottle
First concept
Breadboard prototype with Arduino, servo and potentiometer
The Nittany Lion Light Stand MIND (Arduino + Breadboard)
3D printed Nittany Lion head on stand
The 3D printed body of the Nittany Lion Light Stand
Lighting the Nittany Lion lamp at the desk
Final prototype
Featured · Personal Build

Nittany Lion Lightstand

A 3D printed Nittany Lion desk lamp driven by an Arduino, a micro servo, and an LED that lights from the lion's mouth. I took it from circuit to finished desk piece, including a mid project pivot when the soldered board failed.

  • Adapted an existing model, adjusted its dimensions, and 3D printed it in multiple parts that I assembled by hand, then integrated the electronics into the printed body.
  • Hand soldered a custom board first; after a broken trace, rebuilt the circuit on a breadboard to recover the build.
  • Validated the servo and light mechanism on its own before committing it inside the printed lion.
3D PrintingArduinoServo ControlSolderingCADEmbedded
View Poster
Build & demo · tap to play
First prototype
Second prototype
PCB to breadboard
Mechanism test 1
Mechanism test 2
Final product
Three iterative eF1 car body designs
CFD velocity contour around the eF1 body
CFD flow field of the eF1 body, iteration 83
ME 340 · Design Methodology

eF1 Car Body Aerodynamics

Competed in a semester long e-Formula design competition against 64 teams to build the fastest car by applying mechanical engineering principles like aerodynamics, drag reduction, and lift optimization. Developed three original car body designs beyond the baseline, validated through CFD and wind tunnel testing, and reached the quarterfinals.

  • Developed three original car body designs beyond the baseline in SolidWorks, targeting reduced drag at sustained high speed lap conditions.
  • Validated drag and lift through CFD and wind tunnel testing, correlated to predicted lap time improvement.
CFDSolidWorksWind TunnelAerodynamics
Wind tunnel & track · tap to play
Wind tunnel test · Design 1
Quarterfinal run
SparkFun RedBot platform with motor driver and sensors
ME 454 · Mechatronics

Autonomous RedBot Controls

Embedded control labs on a RedBot platform: wall following and precision stopping built with classical control and a finite state machine, in Arduino C++.

  • Wall following with a PD controller and an FSM variant using IR sensor feedback for closed loop tracking.
  • PID based parking and emergency braking; tuned gains across hardware units and resolved a motor wiring asymmetry through systematic debugging.
PIDPDFSMIR SensingArduino C++
Demos · tap to play
Wall following
Emergency braking
Karaoke mixer PCB with LEDs lit Populated karaoke mixer PCB in hand Soldering the karaoke mixer PCB
Circuit Design

Karaoke Audio Mixer

An analog audio mixer for karaoke: a switch removes the vocals from a music track so you can sing over the instrumental. Built from prototype into a soldered custom PCB with tone and volume control.

  • Designed signal blocks for tone control, volume, attenuation, and a 4 LED volume display.
  • Populated and hand soldered the PCB, then verified the mixing and gain stages on the bench.
PCB DesignAnalogOp AmpsSolderingAudio
Demo · tap to play
Mixer demo
Finished blue Batman maker figure Cut wood body parts and dowels 3D printed boots accessories Painted figure detail
Penn State Learning Factory · Maker Project

Maker Person Figure

A blue Batman figure built from scratch: dimensioned as a person model in SolidWorks, cut from scrap wood on Penn State's wood shop equipment, fitted with 3D printed accessories, and hand painted in a classic blue Batman theme.

  • Designed the figure and its proportions in SolidWorks to set the cut dimensions.
  • Cut and shaped the body from scrap lumber on Penn State wood shop equipment, joined with dowels.
  • Modeled and 3D printed accessories like boots and a helmet, then hand painted the classic blue Batman look.
SolidWorksWoodworking3D PrintingHand PaintingFabrication
Lit Ramadan LED acrylic display on its wood base
EDSGN 100 Cornerstone · Penn State Learning Factory

LED Acrylic Display

A laser engraved acrylic panel lit from below by an LED base, built at the Penn State Learning Factory. I designed a Ramadan theme to mark the season, etched it into an 8 inch acrylic square, and seated it in a routed wood base with an LED strip that backlights the artwork.

  • Created the artwork as a vector file and laser engraved it onto an 8 inch acrylic square.
  • Cut and routed a wood base with a holding slot, then fit an LED strip to backlight the design.
Laser EngravingCADWoodworkingLEDDesign
Engraving & result · tap to play
Laser engraving
Final result
04 / Contact

Let's talk engineering.

Open to research collaborations and conversations on drilling automation, aerodynamics, and mechanical engineering. The harder the problem, the better.

Email
aaa7601@psu.edu Phone
+1 (540) 295-5395 Résumé
Abdullah_Al_Otaibi_Resume.pdf