I joined the University of Waterloo Robotics Team (UWRT) my first my first month of university and got to learn and work with senior undergrad students. Over my time on the team, I got to work on two robotic arms, attend two university rover challenge (URC) competitions, where we finished top 25% globally. By the end of my experience on the team I was the mechanical team lead and was mentoring and reviewing peer designs.

Details

Over nearly three years, progressively took on greater responsibility within the team’s mechanical division, growing from a general design engineer into the lead overseeing the full mechanical team. Starting out as a Mechanical Design Engineer, the role involved designing and manufacturing component mounts across the rover (PC, e-stop, motor controllers, limit switches) and assembling major mechanical systems including the rocker suspension, drivetrain transmission, and a 5 DOF robotic arm. After moving into the Actuator Design Co-op, the focus shifted to more complex design work — including a quick-change end-effector interface that allowed the rover to autonomously swap tools, and a wrist roll joint using a slip ring to enable continuous rotation. The team competed at the University Rover Challenge in Utah that year, finishing in the top 25% globally. As Robotic Arm Lead, a small team of three engineers was led through the design of a new 5 DOF arm for the 2018 URC competition, including running weekly meetings, conducting design reviews, producing drawings, and supporting manufacturing and assembly. The final role as Mechanical Team Lead involved overseeing a team of 15+ engineers in the ground-up design of a new rover for the 2019 URC competition. Responsibilities spanned the full engineering process — writing project specifications, building Gantt chart timelines, conducting sub-system design reviews, and training new members in SolidWorks and machining. For the 2018 competition year, also authored the mechanical documentation for the System Acceptance Review, which secured the team’s acceptance into the URC competition.