Shaun Shariff
About Shaun Shariff
Shaun Shariff is a Principal Physics Engineer at Exa Corporation, where he has worked since 2015. He has extensive experience in simulation accuracy and has contributed to significant projects in aerospace engineering and computational fluid dynamics.
Work at Exa
Shaun Shariff has been employed at Exa Corporation as a Principal Physics Engineer since 2015. In this role, he has contributed to the development of the PowerFLOW simulation suite for computational fluid dynamics (CFD). He managed the transformation of the suite from nonphysical repeatability tests to effective tests of physics, enhancing the accuracy and reliability of simulations. His work involves creating tests using an in-house harness built on programming languages such as Python, C++, and shell scripts.
Previous Experience
Prior to his tenure at Exa, Shaun Shariff worked at Malachiarts as a Senior Software Consultant from 2011 to 2014. He also served as a Scientist at Metacomp Technologies Inc from 2003 to 2010. His roles in these organizations involved applying his expertise in software development and physics simulations, contributing to various projects and initiatives within the field.
Education and Expertise
Shaun Shariff holds a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Virginia Tech, where he studied from 1988 to 1992. He further advanced his education at Caltech, earning a Doctor of Philosophy from 1992 to 1998. His academic background provides a strong foundation for his work in physics engineering and simulation technologies.
Innovative Projects
During his academic career, Shaun Shariff revived the 1970s 'pinned wheel' mobility concept for a lunar rover as part of a NASA senior design project. This concept has since been utilized in multiple Mars rover missions. His innovative approach to engineering challenges reflects his commitment to advancing aerospace technology.
Technical Skills
Shaun Shariff has demonstrated proficiency in utilizing novel Message Passing Interfaces (MPIs) on high-performance computing clusters, including Cray-MPI at HLRS in Stuttgart and Omni-Path at Intel's Diamond cluster. He has implemented solutions for manipulating large data sets, which has significantly contributed to the efficiency of physics simulations in his work.