Dr.ASHWINI VALAVAN

• Led testing and characterisation of gas sensors for wearable and temperature sensor for environmental products to ensure real-world performance
• Developed and optimised test methods; documented findings in Confluence and supported software troubleshooting.
• Applied correlation analysis to identify and eliminate temperature and humidity effects on gas sensor readings
• Created compensation algorithms for Gas Sensor, reducing false VOC readings from >1000ppm to safe levels of ~100ppm and NO2 levels from >50ppm to ~10ppm by correcting for temperature and humidity effects. This resulted in an overall ~80% improvement in sensor accuracy validated under real-world conditions
• Analysed sensor data using MATLAB in collaboration with Software and ML teams to validate performance, detect anomalies, and improve accuracy of Gas Sensors
• Led global knowledge transfer of gas sensor algorithms, coordinating with international teams including Singapore
• Mentored graduate students on IMU and turbidity sensors, supporting skill development
• Designed and reviewed PCB Schematics using Mentor Graphics Schematics - Part to Part variation testing of gas sensor array PCB
• Managed the Gas Sensor Lab, enforcing safety protocols and conducting risk assessments including COSHH

Investigation of Materials for Encapsulating Flexible Gas Sensor for Air Pollution Monitoring

• Fabricated flexible PCBs in a cleanroom using photolithography and assembled SMT components with a reflow oven to create flexible gas sensors
• Developed packaging techniques for flexible gas sensor, improving electronics system durability by 2.2x, Designed and implemented custom testing rigs to assess mechanical performance under bending and washing conditions
• Utilised vacuum thermoforming and polymer encapsulation for sensor protection

• Developed a sensor circuit measuring static pressure, total pressure, and temperature, successfully predicting surge conditions in gas turbine
• Developed MATLAB-based sensor circuits for detecting surge and stall conditions