Nayonika BAnerjee
Design Engineering Sustainability
Education
Educational History
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
B.S. Diploma Received
Major: Packaging Systems and Design
Focus in structural design and sustainability
In Major GPA: 3.281
Minor: Religion and Culture
William Mason High School
High School Diploma Received
Honors Diploma
AP student
Science National Honors Society
Speech and Debate
GPA: 4.4
Experience
Where I learned from the world
Avantor Sciences
Packaging Design Engineer, Sustainability Champion, Internship Coordinator
October 2021-Current
I have been working at Avantor Sciences as their sole Packaging Engineer in the Fluid Handling division. I work with an incredible team in the warehouse, in the clean-room, and on site to create strong and protective packaging for our biotechnological and biopharmaceutical devices. I work in SolidWorks as well as Autodesk Inventor to create these. I also have the privilege of being the Sustainability Champion of the four sites we have. I lead a wonderful team of individuals through projects that help us as a unit stay more green and be more mindful. Alongside that I am currently building the Internship program from the ground up. I also work multi-site for my job so I am used to traveling and working at different facilities.
Packaging Corporation of America
Co-op 2021 April-September
I reached out to PCA Roanoke after I graduated from Virginia Tech. They had a position as a design co-op open up out of the blue and I jumped at the opportunity. It has been a great learning experience so far. I have been helping to design, build, and test innovative corrugated solutions for customers all over the country. Through this position I have learned industry and company specific standards for corrugated board and worked with corrugated manufacturing and printing machines to make mockups, prototypes and samples based on customer need and specifications.
Li Industries Inc.
Sustainability Engineering Intern
Summer 2020
In May of 2020 I was hired by Li Industries as a Manufacturing Sustainability Intern. Here I worked on a team in researching sustainable systems to re-energize old Li-Ion batteries and reuse the parts into new batteries. I also helped the company to secure Phase II National Science Foundation funding. During this internship I also worked on strengthen my skills as they apply to the scientific method and engineering notebook policies.
Ware Lab
Tour Coordinator
Sept 2019- November 2020
I lead and coordinate tours through the ware lab for new students, alumni, perspective students, families, schools, scholars, and donors.
BOLT
Team member, SEC representative
May 2017-May 2019
I was a part of BOLT which is an electric motorcycle racing team. We are a team that takes a fully functional gas bike, strips out all of the components, and creates a fully electric racing bike on top of the original rolling chassis. I worked on design and machining parts for the Chassis Subteam from May 2017-May 2019.
I was Student Engineering Council Representative from May 2018-May 2019. Being the SEC Representative meant that I worked with the College of Engineering to help get funding for my design team. I did presentations, made budget reports, and voted with the board on different council issues.
Galipatia at Virginia Tech
Mentor Liaison, Mentor
May 2016-May 2018
I was a mentor to the mentors within the Lee hall co-ed living learning community. I hosted weekly meetings for the mentors, checked up on them and helped them handle any big events that they could not deal with alone. I was also the liaison between the Engineering Education Department and the mentors themselves. I worked with 10 amazing mentors and watched them grow as individuals and this was a phenomenal way to reach a huge number of people in the community all at once.
Norfolk Southern
Communications and Signals Intern
Summer 2017
I performed data analysis and ran logistics for the company in multiple areas. I worked in the field to collect data (for hands on experience) and wrote reports based on what my findings were. Since I was working under the Department of Transportation I cannot go into too much further detail about the exact reports, but I grew so much from this experience. I traveled the country for company events, I was a part of their females of NS panel, and I got my first real taste of working full time. I thank Norfolk Southern for taking a chance on me.
T.E.K Robotics
Vice president, Outreach Chair
August 2015- May 2017
I started as a Freshman in T.E.K. robotics and I worked with the team all year to create a strong foundation and governing body. We worked together for the next two years creating new bylaws, perfecting a teaching curriculum, and making it so that more people had access and understanding of robotics as a whole.
Projects
A selection of projects I've worked on
PCA Extra Projects
These are some of the extra projects that I was able to work on for people within PCA. They have structural and design based components that I was able to use to grow my skills in Impact and Illustrator. They include signs, banners, cutouts, and lots of other neat things. My favorite project so far has been the bear head mount that I created for one of the plant managers. It was my first start to finish project that I was able to work on and it hangs in two of the offices in PCA Roanoke now.
48-Hour Repack: Hi-Cone Alternative
This project was the final product of the 2020 48-hour repack. A group of friends and I recreated an alternate to hi-cone rings for soda that were light weight, cost efficient, easier to breakdown, and decomposed in water so that no marine life could be hurt in the process. Here is a link to the video submitted with the project: https://youtu.be/NR0zENZSvu4
Unit Load Optimization Papers
In the spring of 2020 we had two lectures with Dr. Mark White who is the creator of the Best Load software. After his each of his lectures he gave us the task to complete in Best Load. He would give us an original file that had real world sample data and we had to adapt it to a specific set of guidelines. The first one was to make sure that the new packaging weight to unit load weight ratio is less than 9%. And the second one was to make sure that the maximum pressure on the bottles within boxes on our pallets was 2.1 psi or less. In both of these I learned a lot about the software, about what can and cannot be made in industry, and about what changes to the pallet can cause it to become functional or not.
A redesign of George Orwell's Classic 1984
This cover was a design project for our design fundamentals class and I got the chance to redo the cover of the classic 1984. This project was based around texture so I focused on journals and parchment paper as journals were against the law to keep in the book. I really liked how the book cover looks and the fact that I was able to incorporate an eye like the original cover had.
Ware Lab Romer Arm User Guide
The Ware Lab had enlisted the BOLT team in the fall of 2018 to figure out the basic ins and outs of the Hexagon Romer arm that was donated to the Ware Lab. The three of us, myself, Alex, and Andrew ran tests, went to a multi-faceted seminar, took a lot of notes, and condensed everything down into this report. I was not a part of the initial testing phase, however, I was the one that compiled the details and created the guide with input from my partners. This is the current and most up to date guide on that piece of machinery and it taught me how to write a professional user guide. This guide took a lot of time and effort to put together, but turning it in and having it be the main source of knowledge on that machine in the lab was a great feeling. This project was done alongside our other projects on the team as well as alongside our classes and it showed me how to balance time management, working with a team, and conducting long term research through trial and error.
A Vinyl Redesign for All Time Low's Album: So Wrong it's Right
This vinyl cover redesign for one of my favorite bands. I did this as a color theory assignment for my design fundamentals class. I was thrilled to be able to pay homage to the original with there being a replica of the design in the small vinyl circle and keeping the colors the same as the old album. This project was so much fun to create and it challenged me to come up with some innovative ways to overlay designs and bring things together.
Global Distributions Design Project
This was our semester long project for our Global Distributions Design class. We were to take and protect 8 ceramic catalytic converters through all the trial and tribulations of Amazon's ISTA 6A standard. It was a difficult project, but we passed with flying colors and our converters came out completely unscathed.
Packaging Assessment
This was a Packaging Assessment assignment that we got for our Senior Design Practicum. I learned that can analyze a product from multiple aspects and I can make a rational conclusions and plan of action that is beneficial for everyone at the end of the day. I was able to apply the knowledge that I have learned and come up with a report that optimizes the overall package and I think I would like to do that in the future as well. I had a lot of fun with the principle and application of optimization in my other classes.
A package redesign for the DeathAdder mouse
This package redesign was the final project in principles of packaging class. We were told to completely redesign an existing mouse box using nothing, but the mouse we were given. Everything from the dimensions, to the gradients are done by hand. This was the first semester project I had done for the packaging program and I am really proud of it.
Beverage Product line
This was a collaborative assignment that spanned the latter half of our CAD class. This project was to create a company, a sales pitch of individualized flavors and then a variety pack of flavors of a newly produced beverage line. The product line we created was for natural energy enhancing drinks that taste good and are healthy for you. It was a line marketed to college students. My focus was Strawberry Mint.
Literary genre analysis of Engineering Notebooks
This was a genre analysis of a form of writing that was well used in our majors. I picked Engineering notebooks because I was familiar with the concept and had used them before, however, I wanted a greater understanding of them as a whole. Through this paper I learned how to create a technical report based on research, interviews, and my own experiences.
Chocolate Bar Project
This was a project where I had to come up with a concept for a chocolate bar and then iterate on it for different flavors, purposes, and designs. I had a lot of fun with this assignment. It really helped me understand the purpose of using multiple layers in adobe illustrator. I liked my concept and the fact that I was able to come up with three designs that were very different from one another.
