Experience

Penn Science Policy & Diplomacy Group

• United States
• Public Policy Offices
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Co-President

  • Aug 2020 - Present

  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States • Led an organization providing science policy, communication, and diplomacy education and hands-on experience to audiences of over a thousand people per year • Authored and published policy memos related to bias in AI systems, and presented them to audiences including the Assistant Secretary of HUD and the offices of Senators and Representatives at the state and federal level • Oversaw workshops, large-scale events, and projects including an in-house podcast, blog, 8-part Science… Show more • Led an organization providing science policy, communication, and diplomacy education and hands-on experience to audiences of over a thousand people per year • Authored and published policy memos related to bias in AI systems, and presented them to audiences including the Assistant Secretary of HUD and the offices of Senators and Representatives at the state and federal level • Oversaw workshops, large-scale events, and projects including an in-house podcast, blog, 8-part Science Communication Workshop Series, and a project to establish a SciPol Fellowship in the PA State Assembly • Worked with a 7-person leadership team to guide organizational long-term initiatives and ensure sustainability as Co-President in 2022 and as Science Policy Chair in 2020-2021 • Led working groups to present educational workshops, and organized teams performing local, state, and national level science writing and advocacy Show less



University of Pennsylvania

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Ph.D. Student

  • Jun 2018 - Present

  Greater Philadelphia Area • Developed, implemented, and published a new method for using machine learning (Graph Neural Networks) to facilitate communication to improve area sensor coverage performance with a multi-robot team • Created a new framework that uses network flow over a “task graph” for task allocation in complex multi-robot missions, such as long-term agricultural or construction tasks. Currently testing in a simulated urban environment, to be submitted for publication imminently • Co-wrote a… Show more • Developed, implemented, and published a new method for using machine learning (Graph Neural Networks) to facilitate communication to improve area sensor coverage performance with a multi-robot team • Created a new framework that uses network flow over a “task graph” for task allocation in complex multi-robot missions, such as long-term agricultural or construction tasks. Currently testing in a simulated urban environment, to be submitted for publication imminently • Co-wrote a successful grant application for swarm micro-scale robotic construction. Now leading a team of researchers working on simulating control algorithms and manufacturing scale prototypes to test micro-robot locomotion

• ICRA 2022 Autonomous Weapons Systems Workshop Co-Organizer

  • Sep 2021 - May 2022

  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Co-organized a workshop on the legal, ethical, and technical challenges of lethal autonomous weapons systems at ICRA 2022: https://www.grasp.upenn.edu/laws_icra2022/



University of Pennsylvania

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Teaching Assistant

  • Aug 2019 - May 2021

  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States • Graduate-level Mechatronics [Fall 2019, Spring 2021] -- led recitations and led team of teaching assistants in hands-on course for seniors and first year grad students • Undergraduate-level Dynamics [Spring 2020] -- led recitations, wrote homeworks



University at Buffalo

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Robotics Research Assistant

  • Aug 2015 - Jun 2018

  Robotic hand research under Dr. Nils Napp. -Used SolidWorks, AutoCAD, 3D printing and laser cutting to modify the Yale OpenHand Model T42 to accommodate distance and pressure sensors, used to improve gripping characteristics -Built and programmed system to control the hand, and a robotic rover to which it was mounted

• Research Assistant

  • Nov 2014 - May 2016

  Design and Fabrication of the Wings of a Morphing Wing Aircraft research under Dr. Amin Karami. -Research on the application of piezoelectric smart materials to the wings of an unmanned aerial vehicle -Won a competitive $1500 research grant from the Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities at UB

• Research Assistant

  • May 2015 - Aug 2015

  Optimization of Autonomous Vehicle Routing under Drs. Karwan and Kang. -Researched Operations Research and linear programming in their application to routing -Used IBM's CPLEX Java API to program sample formulations of routing problems



Oregon State University

• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Robotics Research Associate

  • Jun 2016 - Aug 2016

  Corvallis, Oregon Created a novel liquid metal 3D printer, which successfully printed eGaIn, an alloy of Indium and Gallium that is liquid at room temperature. This printer can print circuits onto silicone, which are then encased in more silicone, and form the nervous system of a soft robot. With the capabilities of this printer, the mLab at Oregon State University is able to make the first ever completely 3D-printed soft robot. Worked under Dr. Yigit Menguc.