About Me
I am a PhD candidate in Robotics at Oregon State University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Mathematics from the University of Arizona. I currently work with Yiğit Mengüç and Ross Hatton on the development of soft snake robots and their locomotion through various environments.
I am interested in bio-inspired robotics as a strategy for developing robots that can operate in unstructured environments. All of this is driven by my interest in space exploration and development. Nature has produced countless strategies for navigating extreme environments, and by studying these strategies and implementing them on robots, we can expand the capabilities of robots as a whole. I am excited to work in soft robotics as working with materials and structures that more closely resemble biological organisms feeds my desire to build more robust robots. Specifically, I am interested in how soft robots can use interactions with their environment to further their capabilities (locomotion, manipulation, etc.). In traditional robotics, the goal is to avoid interacting with the environment because it introduces too many complexities. I believe that trying to understand these complexities, and using them to our advantage, is what will push robotics to the next level. Soft robots provide an excellent platform for these studies as our inherent softness within our own bodies and those spanning biology allow us to adapt and conquer complex environments. Understanding how animals use their soft bodies to navigate unpredictable environments will provide insight towards robotic applications everywhere, and specifically with my interests, in space.
I am interested in bio-inspired robotics as a strategy for developing robots that can operate in unstructured environments. All of this is driven by my interest in space exploration and development. Nature has produced countless strategies for navigating extreme environments, and by studying these strategies and implementing them on robots, we can expand the capabilities of robots as a whole. I am excited to work in soft robotics as working with materials and structures that more closely resemble biological organisms feeds my desire to build more robust robots. Specifically, I am interested in how soft robots can use interactions with their environment to further their capabilities (locomotion, manipulation, etc.). In traditional robotics, the goal is to avoid interacting with the environment because it introduces too many complexities. I believe that trying to understand these complexities, and using them to our advantage, is what will push robotics to the next level. Soft robots provide an excellent platform for these studies as our inherent softness within our own bodies and those spanning biology allow us to adapt and conquer complex environments. Understanding how animals use their soft bodies to navigate unpredictable environments will provide insight towards robotic applications everywhere, and specifically with my interests, in space.
