Mechanical Engineering · Structures · Autonomous Systems

I build systems that move.

I design load-bearing hardware, model vehicle physics, and turn ambiguous requirements into engineered systems that can be tested, understood, and improved.

Portrait of David Sura
Chicago · Building now
Mechanical designCAD · DFM · GD&T
Autonomous systemsUAVs · sensing · integration
SimulationEnergy · routing · validation
Software productsFull-stack · client delivery
Selected work · 2025—2026

Featured Projects

Four projects, four different operating environments, one consistent approach: make the system visible, then make it better.

01 · Flight hardware

Autonomous Payload Drone

A payload-retrieval UAV developed through roughly 10 design iterations. Résumé-reported design history includes an approximately 30 lb payload target, a 15-to-9 lb vehicle-mass reduction, and about 100 calculations; the case study separates those figures from the uploaded preliminary eCalc scenario.

SolidWorksSystems integrationCarbon fiberFirst-principles analysis
View case study
ASSEMBLY / FULLDRAG TO INSPECTCAD REV / SUR-01
02 · Freight systems software

DasuraGo

A deterministic planning and simulation system for a future U.S. electric-freight network—connecting human drayage, autonomous line haul, charging, energy, cost, routing, and shipment execution without pretending simulation is live infrastructure.

Next.js + TypeScriptFastAPIEnergy & SOC modelsProvider governance
View case study Open the live system
08:25 PRODUCT WALKTHROUGH
2 PICKUPS · 2 DROP-OFFSCARGO ASSIGNMENT · INSTANT QUOTES
03 · College autonomy project

Spring-Powered Autonomous Sled

Our four-person ME 250 team designed a scale-model sled that had to carry at least 100 g, use no wheels, run only on torsion-spring energy, stop without human intervention, and signal completion. A morphological study narrowed 2,419,200 combinations before CAD, workshop fabrication, and subsystem integration.

SolidWorksFunctional analysisArduinoPrototype development
View case study
2,419,200Possible combinations
1,296Feasible concepts
Concept 9Best of Class
SolidWorks CAD concept for the spring-powered autonomous sled Annotated early sketch showing the torsion spring, ultrasonic sensor, Arduino, servo motor, lock, and LED
ULTRASONIC SENSOR → ARDUINO LOGIC → SERVO LOCK → LED SIGNAL
MATURITY: CAD / CONCEPT STAGE · PHYSICAL PROTOTYPING AND PERFORMANCE TESTING REMAIN
04 · Client product work

Website Development Business

I translate a client’s goals into clear, responsive web experiences—combining positioning, visual systems, implementation, and launch support instead of treating the website as decoration.

Product strategyResponsive designFrontend developmentClient delivery
View case study
About me

Engineering starts with the right question.

I’m David Sura, a mechanical engineering student at UIC focused on autonomous systems, structural design, and the software that makes complex machines legible.

I chose engineering because I have always been drawn to problems that resist the first answer—puzzles, Rubik’s cubes, math, and physics—and to design as the point where an idea becomes something real. Golf keeps me patient and analytical; swimming and water polo taught endurance and teamwork; Polish cultural dance kept me connected to my heritage; and founding a boxing club in high school gave me an early lesson in organizing people, earning trust, and leading from inside the work.

Puzzles & Rubik’s cubesGolfSwimming & water poloPolish cultural danceBoxing club founder
01 / FRAMEDefine the mission and expose the real constraints.
02 / BUILDPrototype the highest-risk assumption first.
03 / VERIFYMeasure, document, and make the next decision clearer.
How I contribute

Across the system.

The through-line is systems thinking: interfaces matter as much as parts, and the reasoning should remain inspectable.

01

Mechanical architecture

Translate mission constraints into geometry, materials, interfaces, and manufacturable assemblies.

02

Autonomy integration

Design around sensors, compute, communications, power, and the realities of the physical platform.

03

Modeling & validation

Make assumptions explicit, preserve provenance, and test the highest-consequence decisions.

04

Product delivery

Turn complex technical work into an experience that users, clients, and collaborators can act on.

The concise version

Let’s build something that has to work.

I’m interested in ambitious engineering teams working across mechanical design, testing, and manufacturing. My résumé has the fast overview; the projects show how I think.