These are some of my favorite projects.

As an aerospace engineer, my professional trajectory has been both diverse and enriching. My foundational years in military service instilled in me discipline, resilience, and a keen eye for detail—qualities that seamlessly transitioned into my engineering pursuits.

I invite you to explore this portfolio in any way you’d like. And of course if you have any questions please feel free to contact me on LinkedIn.

Mars Helicopter Drop Testing

As an engineering intern at Aerovironment, I was tasked with validating and iterating upon the landing gear design of Mars 2020 Ingenuity’s successor, the Sample Return Helicopter (SRH). One of the biggest changes from the original design is the mobile landing gear, which will collect the cached regolith samples and fly them back to the lander for takeoff. Validation required over 500 drop tests of the model into simulated Mars regolith and iteration occurred after processing and aggregating all the data from the drops.

Skills: Design of Test Procedures, Data Pipeline, Systems Engineering, ISO4 Clean Room

SQUID

SQUID V3, developed at Caltech's Burdick Robotics Group, is an advanced unmanned aerial system with ballistic launching capabilities for emergency, space, and defense applications. Upgrades include a companion computer for enhanced autonomy, a LIDAR camera, and a servo actuated arm release mechanism.

Skills: CAD, Electronics Selection, Avionics, ROS Autonomy

Project

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Overview

Quadrupedal Locomotion

Legged robots are an exciting area of research. This project was my first opportunity to explore locomotion with a physical system, focusing specifically on optimization of the control systems. First, I 3D printed quadrupedal test platform. I then applied a variety of optimization techniques in a simulated digital environment, uploaded them into the platform, and compared the results to those in a physical test environment.

Skills: Robotics, Embedded Systems, Failure Analysis, Locomotive Motion Planning

UCLA Battlebots

I designed a 1 lb combat robot, inspired by WALL-E, adhering to constraints set by UCLA MakerSpace's manufacturing capabilities. Utilizing SolidWorks for CAD modeling and Finite Element Analysis, I optimized the design to achieve a 35% reduction in stress and a 25% weight reduction in the chassis.

Skills: Structural FEA, Mass Trade Studies, Rendering, Soldering