Ani Hovanesian

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT ANI HOVANESIAN

I’m a junior Aerospace Engineering student at UCLA and a private pilot working toward my instrument rating. I’m passionate about aviation, hands-on engineering, and building teams and communities where people can thrive. When I’m not in the lab or the shop, you’ll probably find me flying, playing intramural sports, kickboxing, or salsa dancing.I have design and manufacturing experience through UCLA’s Bruin Formula Racing (Formula SAE) and Bruin Racing Baja. On Bruin Formula Racing, I serve as the Lead for Equity, Diversity & Inclusion and Social & Communities Chair, as well as a member of the suspension subteam. In these roles, I help create a safe and encouraging environment for members, support our leaders on topics like burnout and effective communication, drive education and growth initiatives, and assist with new member training. On the technical side, I work on shock packaging design, including creating pushrod and pullrod assemblies in SolidWorks and collaborating with our vehicle dynamics team to achieve target motion ratios.Outside of Formula, I’m a new member of Bruin Racing Baja, where I’m exploring methods to test fatigue in our gearbox. This involves connecting the gearbox to an engine and evaluating torque transmission and gear wear.Last summer, I worked on a tensegrity rover project at UC Irvine under Professor Julian Rimoli. I developed a device to test stress and strain on the rover and engineered an electrical box capable of recording time, distance, temperature, and quaternion-based orientation data.My leadership journey began in high school when girls were first allowed to join the Boy Scouts program. I founded a troop, recruited its members, and served as its first youth leader. Under my leadership, our troop advanced through the ranks, and three-quarters of our founding members—including myself—earned the rank of Eagle Scout.I’m social, hands-on, and creative, with a strong passion for designing, building, and testing every project I take on. I’m excited to keep growing in aerospace, motorsports, and beyond—especially in roles where I can combine technical engineering with mentorship and team leadership.