Rich Bauernschub is a lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and lead instructor of the Senior Design capstone class for mechanical engineering. He joined Johns Hopkins in fall 2023 after over 25 years of industry experience.
Where did you grow up and live before Baltimore?
I grew up north of Baltimore City, in Towson, MD. I’ve been a Marylander my whole life.
Where did you go to school and what was your focus?
I got my BS in mechanical engineering here at Hopkins, and then went to UM College Park for my MS in mechanical engineering. My master’s thesis was on defects in electronics manufacturing. My research assistantship while at UM was at the CALCE (Computer Aided Lifecycle Engineering) which is an industry-sponsored consortium specializing in reliability analysis.
What did you do before you came to JHU?
I was an engineer in the defense industry for 28 years before coming (back) to Hopkins. I started my career as a design engineer on the Pioneer and Shadow Uncrewed Air Vehicle (UAV) Systems. It was very exciting to be on the leading edge of UAV technology. Now there’s a Pioneer UAV in the Smithsonian and Shadow UAVs have flown over a million hours. I was also Director of Engineering for a mine-sweeping Uncrewed Surface Vessel for the US Navy that recently received initial deployment to the Pacific Fleet.
A Pioneer RQ-2A UAV similar to the one at the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum
What inspired you to pursue mechanical engineering as a career?
I spent a lot of time with my grandfather who was a mechanic and carpenter for Baltimore City. He would let me help on car projects or fixing broken things around the house. My first “design project” was a table for our dot matrix printer, and I haven’t looked back since.
Outside of teaching, what are your other interests and hobbies?
As a lifelong Orioles fan, I’ve been enjoying the past few years immensely. I spend a lot of time with my kids playing board and video games.