Alexie Pogue

Researcher developing a framework to understand how universities respond to critical incidents.

The Beginning

Education: San Diego Mesa Community College 2008-2010 (Associate’s degrees), University of California San Diego 2010-2013 (B.S. Chemical Engineering), University of California Los Angeles 2014 – 2024 (M.S. Mechanical Engineering 2016, Ph.D. Candidate 2018, Ph.D. conferred 2024).

The Basics

My writing is “homegrown” but I do use chatbots for formatting and some editing.

I’m a “first principles” thinker; likely because I’m a product of simple values, (statistically) zero indoctrination, and a lot of listening before forming an opinion.

The Turning Point

Engineering was really the turning point for me in critical thinking. I wasn’t a typical engineer growing up. The simple mechanisms I came across in everyday life were a mystery to me and I thought they’d remain that way. When I went to college I found I excelled in math and science, subjects fundamental to robotics engineering. At one point I took a course in digital control that was hands-on and required me to implement theory on a robot I built myself. This was my first introduction to robotics but I was amazed by how much I could to do with so little background. After spending some time in a robotics lab, I decided to pursue robotics, but it wasn’t smooth sailing from there. Certain principles in robotic design were still lost on me, mechanisms looked crude in form — the details and nuances of their purpose remained a mystery. I was frustrated but looked again and again, hoping to see beyond the surface. After some time, like a foreign language, words that were just sounds began to have meaning. I started to understand them and the power they held when they came together. I learned to be observant, pay attention to detail, and that the simplest components can play incredibly important roles in the overall function of a mechanism. Looking back, robotics engineering allowed me to see the world in a way I never thought possible. It has given me incredible insight: “figurative glasses” to help me see just like my physical ones do.

The Future

I’m interested in the intersection of policy and tech — specifically how AI will come to shape our world. My blog posts will mainly focus on topics surrounding these issues.

My Interests

I love comedy, spy thrillers, poetry, and basketball. Would also love to get into some DIY projects if I ever have time.