A few Bits About Me

Hi! I’m an engineer, hobbyist, climber, photographer etc. based out of Seattle. When I was little, I wanted to be an inventor, and as I grew up it seemed that engineering was the closest proxy for that career that I could find. So here we are!

I’ve set this site up to document my personal projects and interests. It’s a constant work in progress, so please excuse any typos or brief descriptions!

Interests:

(you can sort projects by interest by selecting on the sidebar / pull out menu)

Electronics

I’ve enjoyed working with electronics from a young age, and as a child had an insatiable desire to take apart old and broken devices in the hope of figuring out how they worked. By the time I was twelve I had trained all of my neighbors to let me take a look at their broken electronics before giving up on them, and knew of many of the treasures hidden inside inconspicuous beige enclosures - neodymium magnets and brushless motors from a frozen hard drive, laser diodes from a DVD player, high voltage generators inside a disposable camera flash.

What captivated me then, and continues to hold my attention now, is the process of turning an idea for a device into a finished product. I’ve learned the hard way that design for manufacture is a philosophy that must be maintained from the very start of project, not an optimization that can be slapped on at the end. Complex, highly integrated electrical and electromechanical projects are my bread and butter.

Robotics

I got my introduction to robotics with a BASIC stamp microcontroller, a few scrounged servos and photodiodes, and a whole lot of help from the internet, back when I was ten. Ever since then, I’ve been enchanted by robotics projects large and small.

Mechatronics

What’s cooler that the collision of all of my favorite fields: electrical and mechanical design, sensors and actuators, and real time controls?

Just about nothing, in my opinion.

Additive Manufacturing

When I first discovered 3D printing back in 2009, I thought them interchangeable with magic. The ability to instantiate any design in physical form, in a few hours - what an incredible capability!

Of course, the truth is much more nuanced. In the decade I’ve spent working with 3D printers and designing for additive manufacture, I’ve learned that these machine sare truly amazing for some use cases, and highly flawed in other cases. In the three years I spent managing the Cornell Rapid Prototyping Lab (RPL), I saw thousands of parts printed that never should have made it past the drawing table. Fundamentally, I’ve found that knowing intimately the capabilities and gotchas of the machine you are using, and designing your part with those limitiations in the front of your mind, is crucial for achieving good performance with 3D printed parts.