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Master of Science in Engineering, Robotics

University of Pennsylvania, School of Engineering & Applied Sciences

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• GPA: 3.73/4.00
• Notable Coursework:
  • Model Predictive Control
  • Nonlinear Control
  • Legged Locomotion
  • Autonomous Racing
  • Mobile Robotics
  • Mechatronics

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Temple University, College of Engineering

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• cum laude
• Notable Coursework:
  • Robotic Manipulation (graduate-level)
  • Modern Dynamics (graduate-level)

Staff Research Assistant

Kod*Lab (GRASP Laboratory)

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Implementing a MuJoCo-based simulation environment that interfaces with the Kod*Lab Mjbots SDK — the lab's open-source BLDC motor driver and control framework written in C++ 17 — and supports custom robot configurations
• Implemented single rigid body model for controlling an axially spined quadruped via toe contact forces and body wrenches
• Refactored the Kod*Lab Mjbots SDK to use an object-oriented architecture where the user specifies their system through robot, limb, joint, control loop, and hardware abstract classes and interfaces
• Created a framework for implementing robot behaviors and transitioning between states, including several example control implementations, enabling rapid behavior development in the Kod*Lab Mjbots SDK
• Designed, for manufacture and assembly, a novel, axially-spined 13-degree-of-freedom quadrupedal robot capable of executing highly dynamic, active-spine transitional behaviors
• Updated initial legged robot design to interface with surplus lab actuator modules and accept new Mjbots brushless DC motor drivers, reducing manufacturing costs by 60 percent and making the design compliant with a new lab hardware standard
• Coached three MS and two BS students in hardware and software development, conducting code reviews and hardware testing, leading to the production of research-ready software and robots

Research Assistant

Temple Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (TRAIL)

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Collaborated with PI to develop an optimal, 3D quadrotor path-planner using the Open Motion Planning Library (OMPL) and Google OR-Tools in ROS 1 for use in at-sea inspection of ship substructure and superstructure
• Created a follower controller that mimicked vehicle acceleration and braking profiles while following another vehicle on the Duckiebot mobile robot platform using Python and ROS 1

Lead Data Acquisition Engineer

Temple Formula Racing (Formula SAE Student Organization)

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Implemented a data acquisition unit — including Hall effect sensors, strain gauges, linear potentiometers, rotary encoders, and inertial measurement units — to measure parameters of vehicle steering and suspension dynamics
• Coordinated a five-member team to establish and maintain a timeline to complete a project for an external sponsor, meeting deadlines and maintaining a $1,250 budget
• Identified design requirements, constraints, and objectives through professional interviews and surveys

Student Machinist

Temple University College of Engineering Machine Shop

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Designed and produced components for academic use, employing precise subtractive manufacturing methods
• Provided individual and group lessons on machine operation, machining practices, and part design

Product Development Intern

Blade Diagnostics Corporation

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Designed and fabricated a testing fixture which rapidly validated the frequency response of several hundred speakers
• Designed for manufacture and assembly components for use in an integrally bladed rotor testing platform in PTC Creo Parametric
• Collaborated with supervisors to prepare parts and bills of materials for manufacturing

Undergraduate & Master's Student Mentor

Kod*Lab (GRASP Laboratory)

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Computer-Aided Design (ENGR 3117)

Teaching Assistant under Dr. Laura Riggio

Temple University College of Engineering

Analysis & Computation of Linear Systems (MEE 3011)

Teaching Assistant under Dr. Vallorie Peridier

Temple University College of Engineering

Fluid Mechanics Laboratory (MEE 3506)

Teaching Assistant under Dr. Laura Riggio

Temple University College of Engineering

Kod*Lab Mjbots SDK

Kod*Lab (GRASP Laboratory)

• An open-source SDK for creating dynamic legged machines using the Mjbots motor controller hardware.

Twist Robot Control Infrastructure

Kod*Lab (GRASP Laboratory)

• Kinematics, dynamics, and sensing for a spined 13-DOF quadruped.

Twist Robot Mechanical Design

Kod*Lab (GRASP Laboratory)

• Electromechanical design of a 13-DoF, axially-spined quadruped.

Dynamic Local Trajectory Optimization with Graph Planning

Autonomous Racing Course Project

• Integrated opponent pose estimation with the TUM local graph planner on an F1Tenth RC racecar, successfully avoiding the opponent vehicle and static obstacles in a head-to-head autonomous race
• Implemented lightweight, 2D LiDAR-based dynamic obstacle detection and opponent pose estimation via point cloud clustering

Two-Vehicle Autonomous Race

Autonomous Racing Course Project

• Project page coming soon!

Minitaur Bounding & Pronking Gait Simulation

Legged Locomotion Course Project

• Project page coming soon!

Turtlebot Navigation via Potential Functions

Legged Locomotion Course Project

• Project page coming soon!

Visual-Inertial Odometry for a Quadrotor

Advanced Robotics Course Project

• Estimated quadrotor pose using an error state Kalman filter to fuse onboard inertial measurement unit (IMU) and stereo pair sensor data
• Estimated quadrotor pose from a set of stereo correspondences using the RANSAC algorithm
• Implemented a complementary filter to estimate the attitude of a quadrotor based on data from a six-acis inertial measurement unit (IMU)

Quadrotor Trajectory Generation & Control

Advanced Robotics Course Project

• Project page coming soon!

Parrot AR.Drone Trajectory Planning

Mobile Robotics Course Project

• Implemented minimum jerk trajectory generation for a robotic quadrotor, utilizing numerous rapidly-exploring random tree (RRT) algorithm variants for path planning
• Simulated robot path following using ROS in the Gazebo physics engine