In 2014, Fabricio Machado received his B.S. in mechanical engineering, from the Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei, Brazil. Additionally, he holds an M.B.A. focused on project management, from Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Brazil. Currently, Fabricio is a Ph.D. candidate in mechanical engineering at McMaster University. He joined the McMaster Automotive Resource Centre (MARC) as a master’s student, in January 2019, and switched to the Ph.D. program in 2020.
Fabricio has extensive experience with vehicular mechanical projects and management, cross-functional team coordination, engine design and development, vehicle systems, and vehicle dynamics. He worked as a design system engineer and assistant chief engineer at Stellantis South America (former FCA Latin America) and as a project manager for the McMaster Engineering EcoCAR Team. Currently, Fabricio is working towards his Ph.D., and his research area is on multi-speed gearboxes applied to battery electric vehicles. He also has experience with hardware-in-the-loop implementation, using a powertrain tester, three-machine dynamometer, vehicle and gearbox modelling, and evaluation, based on power losses.
Full Profile
Fabricio was born in Southeast Brazil. His passion for cars, engineering, and technology began very early in his life. This passion led him to study mechanical engineering, followed by an M.B.A focused on project management. He is intensely interested in future automobile technologies concerning powertrains, and how these technologies can make the car of the future more energy-efficient, while keeping the fun-to-drive capabilities.
During his four years of undergraduate studies, Fabricio was a dedicated team member of the Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei’s Baja SAE Racing Team. He took on various roles during that time, such as a powertrain leader, vice-team leader, and as a team leader. Being a member of the Baja SAE team was a unique experience for him, which provided the opportunity to learn how to engineer mechanical components and vehicular systems. Some techniques, such as Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and Design Failure Mode Effect Analysis (DFMEA), were deeply studied and applied to the powertrain design. Furthermore, he also learned vehicle longitudinal dynamics concepts and multi-disciplinary team coordination at that time.
After receiving his bachelor of science degree, Fabricio joined Stellantis South America (former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Latin America). He took on the role of Design System Engineer and Assistant Chief Engineer. In that last position, he coordinated a team of 10 senior and experienced engineers. He managed the technical design and engineering components of a multi-fuel internal combustion engine, for the Brazilian market. This engine was originally designed as a gasoline-fuel engine, and was then converted to consume ethanol or gasoline regardless of the fuel ratio blend. Fabricio developed multiple programs to meet customer needs and technical targets, including engine performance, energy efficiency, reliability, and other engineering aspects. As a result, the engine successfully passed through all performance and quality targets tests.
In 2019, Fabricio joined the McMaster Engineering EcoCAR Team, taking on the role of Project Manager. He was responsible for managing this multi-disciplinary project through project metrics like scope, budget, risk, time, and quality. He successfully developed the team risk assessment and mitigation plan using an FMEA tool.
Fabricio joined Dr. Emadi’s group in January 2019 as a master’s student in mechanical engineering at the McMaster Automotive Resource Centre (MARC), and then switched to the Ph.D. program in April 2020. Fabricio’s research interest includes electric powertrains architecture, vehicle modelling, and powertrain energy efficiency improvement. His research area focuses on multi-speed gearboxes applied to battery electric vehicles. He also has experience with hardware-in-the-loop implementation, using a powertrain tester, three-machine dynamometer, vehicle and gearbox modelling, and evaluation based on power losses. He is also skilled in cross-functional and multicultural team coordination, CAD, CAE, and Design Verification Plan and Report (DVP&R).
