Academic CV

Ph.D in Mechanical Engineering

Northwestern University - McCormick School of Engineering (Evanston, IL)

Guidance and Navigation through Kinesthetic Fingertip Deflection Cues for Wearable Haptic Devices

• Relevant Courses: Advanced Mechatronics, Designing Product Interactions, Embedded Systems in Robotics, Human Perception and Electronic Media, Micromanufacturing

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Stanford University (Stanford, CA)

Mechanical Engineering

• Relevant Courses: Computer-Aided Product Creation, Design and Control of Haptic Systems, Design for Extreme Affordability, Medical Robotics, Orthopedic Bioengineering, Principles of Robot Autonomy, Techniques of Failure Analysis

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Stanford University (Stanford, CA)

Mechanical Engineering

• Relevant Courses: Introduction to Mechatronics, Mechanical Engineering Design Practicum, Perspectives in Assistive Technology, Precision Engineering, Science and Engineering Course Design
• Certificates: Notation in Science Communication

Associate Degree in Science

City Colleges of Chicago (Chicago, IL)

• Fellowships: NASA High Altitude Ballooning Research (NASA-HAB 2015)
• Awards: Presidential Scholar Award, Emerging Student Leader Award, Legacy Award

Co-Instructor

Robot Design Studio, Northwestern University

Evanston, IL, US

• Served as a course assistant and then as a co-instructor across two offerings of a 20-student mechanical engineering capstone course, supporting projects including multi-DOF haptic interfaces and a 5-DOF robot arm with series-elastic actuators.
• Verified mechanical designs and fabrication, ensured electrical and mechanical subsystem safety, coordinated project documentation, and supported ABET accreditation compliance.
• Developed and delivered lectures on mechanical design best practices and team dynamics; coordinated industry guest lecturers; developed and graded student assignments.

Teaching Assistant

Electronics Design, Northwestern University

Evanston, IL, US

• Tutored students in introductory electrical design and circuit analysis as well as performing hands-on demonstrations during group study sessions.
• Graded over 1,400 assignments for a class of 130 students, plus midterm and final exams; I was also responsible for ensuring that the grading team performed consistently, aiding students in resolving any course grievances.

Course Assistant

Foundations of Product Realization, Stanford University

Stanford, CA, US

• Re-designed a project-based design course into a fully online format during COVID, coordinating asynchronous instruction for over 100 on-campus and international students, including sourcing and shipping prototyping materials worldwide. Additionally, re-worked the course final project for an online format, where students built a virtual ‘marble run’ segment in SolidWorks, ran rigid-body simulations to verify functionality, and then integrated their segments into a collaborative group assembly
• Led lectures and study sessions in visual communication through sketching, orthographic projection, and CAD (SolidWorks).

Course Assistant

Additive Manufacturing, Stanford University

Stanford, CA, US

• Developed various assignments and course projects for a graduate-level course of 30 students focusing on various methods of additive manufacturing (FDM, SLA, SLS).
• Designed and fabricated testbeds for 3D-printed water pipe fittings, tensile coupons, and metamaterials, which were then used in competitions to evaluate student designs.

Course Assistant

Stanford Product Realization Lab, Stanford University

Stanford, CA, US

• Taught structured metalworking labs that taught machine lathe and conversational mill use, in addition to oxyacetylene-gas welding and wood turning labs. Lab size was 6-7 students, occurring several times during the quarter. Additionally, mentored 3-4 students during each quarter, with a focus on novel product design and successful fabrication.
• Specialized in rapid prototyping, with a focus on design for fabrication and design for 3D printing using FDM and SLA technologies, as well as prototyping using laser cutting and soft textiles.
• Concurrently served as classroom assistant for Introduction to Product Realization as part of position.

Teaching Assistant

Smart Robots in the Mix, Stanford University

Stanford, CA, US

• Served as a member of the teaching team for three offerings, leading lectures on robotics, human-robot interaction, and robot ethics aimed at introducing technical topics to non-STEM majors.
• Coordinated with instructors and special guests to provide classroom resources, online teaching materials, and assignments for a class of 14-20 students. I personally developed the mid-term and final projects for the course, along with relevant documentation and grading rubrics.

Teaching Assistant

Engineering Projects, City Colleges of Chicago

Chicago, IL, US

• Helped to design and teach a pilot engineering capstone course for 15 students utilizing the Lego Mindstorms EV3 robotics platform, teaching students the concepts behind robot design, programming, and assembly.
• Prepared classroom materials and developed the final project involving chase-and-evade robot behaviors.

Ph.D. Thesis Research

Northwestern Haptics Hab, Northwestern University

Evanston, IL, US

• Developed the NURing, a tendon-driven wearable device that enables eyes-free peripersonal and navigational guidance through kinesthetic cues rendered via fingertip deflection. These cues have been shown to allow precise fingertip guidance during hand reach while requiring minimal cue decoding. Additionally, the device’s form factor and feedback modality further allow for intuitive guidance without impeding tactile sensing or hand dexterity.
• Developed a camera-based closed-loop guidance system integrating real-time ArUco marker pose estimation, coordinate transform pipelines, and embedded motor control to guide users’ hands towards objects eyes-free and provide guidance cues for environmental navigation.
• Designed and implemented the full mechatronics stack: tendon-driven actuation mechanism, custom embedded firmware, host-side vision processing pipeline, and microcontroller-Linux communications.
• Conducted IRB-approved user studies with participants who have visual impairments, evaluating guidance performance across target acquisition and object retrieval tasks in real-world environments.
• Resulted in four peer-reviewed publications (IEEE World Haptics 2025, ACM CHI 2026 (x2), IEEE Transactions on Haptics under review), and a filed patent.
• Co-developed a circuit that generates high-speed (20kHz), high-voltage (±220V, 10mA) waveforms to drive electroadhesive brakes and clutches used in our lab’s research.

Research Assistant

CHARM Lab, Stanford University

Stanford, CA, US

• Designed and fabricated a magnetically-coupled robotic crawler that actuated at the end of a soft extensible vine robot, allowing for the end-effector to extend or retract under its own power.
• Improved the production of cable-driven soft vine robots, with a focus on creating a geometry that results in predictable robot behavior.

Student Researcher

Design for Extreme Affordability, Stanford University

Stanford, CA, US

• Worked in a team collaborating with Rare Brazil to identify key barriers to harvest profitability for crab fishermen, finding post-catch spoilage during unrefrigerated storage was the primary source of income loss for economically vulnerable fishing communities.
• Designed and built a motorcycle-pulled transport cart using common parts to enable direct-to-market delivery, incorporating a novel roll-and-pitch joint to maintain cart stability during transport.
• I was then asked to return for a special summer session, travelling to Kenya and partnering with Factor[E] to identify a low-cost storage solution for rural potato farmers. Co-developed a low-cost drying and storage rack that could be assembled without power tools, using readily available materials.

Student Researcher

Mechanical Engineering Design, Stanford University

Stanford, CA, US

• Worked with a construction industry partner to design and fabricate a novel powder-based fused deposition system for large-scale additive manufacturing using casting wax. My contribution was the design and implementation of the mechatronic system, as well as software / hardware integration.

Student Researcher

Perspectives in Assistive Technology, Stanford University

Stanford, CA, US

• Our team developed a running aid for individuals with blindness and vision impairment, including extensive user testing and iterations. My role was to implement the mechatronic components, which included ultrasonic sensing and wireless vibrotactile feedback through wearable haptic wristbands.

Researcher

Summer Undergraduate Research Institute, Stanford University

Stanford, CA, US

• Developed Augmented Engineering, a proof-of-concept prototype that utilizes augmented-reality projections of engineering CAD / CAM models within a user’s field of view coupled with language-agnostic visual cues and instructions to allow users to assemble / repair complex physical models.

Researcher

NASA High Altitude Ballooning, City Colleges of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois, US

• Developed an optical sensor payload using common LED modules to measure relative levels of sky glow caused by light pollution, which was flown during special night-time launches.
• Designed, built, and flew experimental payloads launched by high-altitude balloons to an altitude of approximately 30 kilometers under a NASA grant with the City Colleges of Chicago.

Robotics Engineer

Engineering Excellence Group - Laing O'Rourke

Sydney, Australia

• Part of a team that researched and developed wearable haptic-feedback devices to provide computer-vision based alerts to equipment operators within construction sites. The device is now commercially available (The Toolbox Spotter) and won the 2019 Australasian Rail Industry’s Innovation and Technology Award.
• My contributions included implementing an encrypted wireless network utilizing the XBee protocol to coordinate between sensors, processing nodes, and feedback devices with an outdoor range of one kilometer. I also developed the wireless haptic feedback wristbands (AlertWear) used by the system.
• Responsible for circuit design, embedded device programming, and testing of the haptic and network elements in situ at the Royal Australian Air Force Base Amberley in Queensland, Australia.

Senior Graphics Specialist

M3 Capital Partners, LLC

Chicago, Illinois, US

• Prior to returning to school and pursuing an education in engineering, I served as the head of graphic design and production for an international capital management firm, where I created digital and print media for multiple clients in multiple languages with an eye towards maintaining corporate standards and a strong attention to detail in a high-paced environment.

Co-President

Stanford Transfer Network

Stanford, CA

• Worked with the Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning to mentor to incoming transfer students.

Lead Organizer

Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, City Colleges of Chicago

Zurich, Switzerland

• Served as president of the Richard J. Daley College chapter representing the City Colleges of Chicago, during which time we grew membership in the organization from 9 to over 40 students.
• Organized a student delegation for the Collegiate Leadership Development Program, which resulted in fifteen members earning scholarships to the 2015 United States Hispanic Leadership Institute Conference.
• Spearheaded the creation of a partnership with Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy (Chicago), in which members of our chapter would spend two hours a week mentoring high school students in STEM courses and activities, as well as tutoring dual-enrollment students