I'm an Industrial and Systems Engineering student at Ohio State University. My greatest goal in life is to make the world a better place (and to live to 200 so that I can continue to work towards this goal for a long time). I'm still trying to figure out exactly how to tackle this, but at least I've got 180 more years!

I have a diverse portfolio of experiences and a wide set of interests, but I'm most fascinated by moonshot startups in a green technology context. I'm passionate about space exploration, the future of electric vehicles, and the capabilities for technology to change social environments and economic inequality (because innovation rarely reaches those who need it most first). I am always on the lookout for new projects, so please don't hesitate to reach out if you're interested in collaborating. You can also visit my LinkedIn for a more comprehensive list of my previous work and project endeavors.

// currently, I'm:

• Working on my philosophy minor; reading a lot of existentialist Heidegger, Dostoevsky, Sartre, and Kierkegaard.
• Eating vegetables and not meat – I encourage you to think about where your food comes from, too.
• Leading a project team within Engineers Without Borders at Ohio State. We're building an irrigation system for a community garden in N'jau, Gambia, featuring a solar-powered borehole and a network of distributed taps (which means working with engineers from the other side of the world and all over the United States).

• Doing Good Today for a better tomorrow.
• Training for the Capital City Half Marathon in August, and the Columbus Marathon in October.
• Cooking (and eating) my grandmother's recipes.

// previously, I've:

built things:

• Combat robots with super-fast spinning weapons. Designed, machined, and tested Beyblade (named after the infamous spinning toys), contributed to the construction of Scrambled Eggs and UPOJ. Competed in 2017 and 2018 XtremeBots at University of Dayton, advanced to 'Sweet Sixteen' both years.

• 3D-printed robot arm. One of the first robotics projects I've ever completed -- I learned the importance of "measure twice, cut once". Didn't win any awards for this one, but you win some and you lose some (see below)!
• A website, fundraising guide, and miscellaneous branding/brochures/flyers for Upper Arlington Robotics. I've always been interested in graphic design and marketing, so this was an amazing learning and business opportunity.
• An autonomous robot for the 25th Annual FEH Robot Competition. Two days before the competition, a drive motor broke, and I took it upon myself to disassemble and reassemble the gearbox (don't worry, our motors ended up working just fine). My team was awarded "Most Likely to Fix Your Motor Problems" by the teaching staff (we even got a cool custom trophy, thanks @jonathanliu).
• 120lb semi-autonomous robot with a pneumatic claw. Taught myself how to wire a pneumatics system, and helped secure an entry to the 2018 FIRST Robotics World Competition. Met and competed with international teams.

organized events:

• 1st, 2nd Annual Mr. Bix's Robo Trix, a weekend-long STEM workshop for elementary- and middle-schoolers. Months of planning, advertising, and branding; over $2,000 of funding for Upper Arlington Robotics; 60+ students impacted.

• 2020 Engineering Expo, the biggest career fair held by Ohio State's College of Engineering. Hundreds of companies, and thousands of students in attendance for this annual, week-long event.

taught:

• Fundamentals of Engineering (ENGR 1182) for first-year engineering students -- because I was once in their shoes, and I have so much appreciation for the patience of my own mentors.
• Introduction to MATLAB (ENGR 1221) for programming students.
• Yoga classes (since December 2019). My favorite classes to teach are sweaty ones (ask any of my regulars -- they'll warn you). Send me an email if you're interested in taking a class!

checked things off my bucket list:

• Ran a marathon (2018), and two half marathons (2017 and 2019). Up next? An ultramarathon.
• Traveled to Gambia (West Africa) -- cooked spicy domoda, showered under the stars, and bartered for trinkets at a market.
• Lived in China for five years; I was raised by my grandparents in Beijing. They taught me everything I know about food: the joys of cold ice cream on a hot summer day, soymilk is superior to dairy milk, and that the best cooking is simple, fresh, and made with intention.

// really curious about:

• Robotics
• Engineering nonprofits
• Space exploration
• Design
• Electric vehicles
• Cooking (and culture)
• Buddhist philosophy
• Meditation and spirituality

// content I'm loving/things I'm inspired by:

• David Epstein's Ted Talk on getting ahead by falling behind (grateful to @leondurrenberger for sharing this with me).
• Dax Shepard's interview on Armchair Expert with David Chang. Can you tell that I love food? Chang's discussion of growing up Asian American, an unusual introduction to his career path, and his lifetime of lessons learned resonated deeply with me.
• The Code of the Extraordinary Mind by Vishen Lakhiani. This book helped me understand that meditation is powerful, visualization is energizing, and everyone has unlocked potential.
• Everything that RJ Scaringe is doing with Rivian.
• Game Changers by Dave Asprey, beacuse who doesn't want to be smarter, faster, and happier?