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)
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, 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. I found in my college years that I excelled in math and science, subjects fundamental to robotics engineering. At one point I took a course that was hands-on and required me to implement theory I’d learned on a robot I built myself. This was my first introduction to robotics. I was amazed by how much I was able 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 I looked at were crude in form; the details and nuances of their purpose were a mystery. I was frustrated but looked over and over 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, poetry, and basketball. I’d love to get into some DIY projects if I ever have time…Does this website count? 😎