Hi, I am Nico – a mechanical robotics engineer from Petaluma, California! I graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in EECS in 2021. I am currently pursuing my M.S. in Mechanical Engineering (Robotics Concentration) at Stanford until the end of 2022. I think the most interesting problems in our world involve the interaction between hardware and software, and I want to apply my career to solving complex issues to benefit others.
Why I Love Robotics
My freshman year at UC Berkeley, I took on Robotic @ Berkeley’s Dorm Ex Machina Challenge: to build something that included both software and hardware that would improve your dorm experience. As the sole mechanical engineer of a team of computer scientists, I contributed to a team that built an automated ping pong rental cabinet system. More importantly, as someone who had never written a single line of code in his life (outside of a TI-84), I saw how capable I was of creating an integrated system. This project, in itself, drove me to teach myself Python that winter. From there, I became fascinated with building up my coding background diligently to eventually work on more complex projects – such as in the automated retail industry and in autonomous drone technology. My love robotics has only grown from there. After all, robotics is the perfect integration of all of my diverse skill background.
Why I Love Control Systems
My first controls class was taught by Professor Kameshwar Poolla, the first lecture which I remember vividly. Professor Poolla spoke of the natural control systems around us, such as hitting that perfect shower temperature or how we, as drivers, continuously steer very, very slightly to stay within the white lines of the road. From there, I quickly became fascinated with getting inanimate systems to exhibit these same intricate actions that humans do. The complex mathematics, deep theoretical background, and vast methods continue to intrigue me because I know that this is a field where I will never stop learning. Where else does mathematics and deep theory have such a tangible real world impact?
Why I Love Dynamics
When you spin a phone in your hands, it spins stability along two of its axes; however, it is unstable along the intermediate access. This is known as the “Dzhanibekov effect” – an incredibly strange feat of physics that can be explained by dynamical analysis. I talk to my friends frequently about this phenomenon – their interest typically less intense than mine. Perhaps it is my background in athletics or something else, but the natural dynamics phenomenon around us, all explicable by dynamical analysis and mathematics, amaze me and motivate my intrigue in a field whose effects are palpable in everyday life.
