Doing what I love: building robots. Working on micron precision mechanical systems, with some electronics and software along the way.

I was the lead student machinist for Cornell's Emerson machine shop. I trained new users and employees, programmed machines, set up production runs for classes, and assisted professors and research groups with design and manufacturing.

Together with academic work and personal shop use, I clocked roughly 900 hours of programming and operating to put a variety of CNC and manual machinery to work. I gained a love for turning a block of metal into something useful.

I was a team lead for Cornell's Baja SAE project team. Each year we design, build, and race an off-road vehicle for the Baja SAE competition. In 2018, we were awarded the 2nd place Mike Schmidt Memorial Award for overall competition performance out of over 150 teams worldwide.

Leading the 45-person team required organizing six subteams and driving major design decisions. With my 2 co-leads, I managed system integration for the full vehicle and reviewed designs and drawings for every subsystem.

My design work focused on the drivetrain subteam. My work culminated with leading the design and analysis of our custom continuously variable transmission (CVT). My Masters of Engineering project focused on novel shift mechanisms for the CVT in addition to simulation tools for better predicting system performance.

I supported the DARPA Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) program. I worked primarily independently as a mechanical designer for the main robotic tool prototype. This tool will be used to grapple a variety of satellite payload rings to capture, dock with, and manipulate school bus sized satellites.

As of August 2021, the tool is in flight readiness testing. It was iterated on after I left, but the design is largely the same. We’ll see once it gets to space!

I worked on the concept and architectural phases of new product development, and worked closely with engineers from multiple disciplines such as electrical, thermal, and systems engineering to define the direction of the program. TL;DR: I was the integration engineer for a cool new prototype.

I established a foundation for team communication through a combination of weekly updates, CAD tetris, and bill of materials tracking. I also took on independent design projects that involved some hardware design and vibration testing.