Research Data Specialist (DHCS)

2020 - Current

I promoted to a Research Data Specialist (RDS) I in 2020, and to an RDS II in 2021. In my new role, I've taken on a senior and leadership position among my cohorts, guiding them to think critically through problems and provide tangible return on investment through innovation. I have worked on multiple automated solutions to reduce menial labor within the department, and have worked on high-profile projects to minimize risk and liability to the Department, while furthering my technical knowledge and broadening my skillset.

Research Data Analyst (DHCS)

2019-2020

I joined the Department of Healthcare Services in order to leverage my technical knowledge to aid governmental innovation. At DHCS, I was hired on to the Business Innovation Branch (BIB), where I work with both internal and external stakeholders to understand business problems and pain points, and deliver solutions and innovations to streamline processes and reduce government waste.

Lead Technical Architect (Airlitix)

2018 - 2019

Looking to use my skills for the good of the community, I broadened my horizons while working on my post-doctoral study, and joined a startup company working to do automated crop monitoring using indoor flying drones to protect California's vulnerable greenhouse crops. In this position, I took lead in the design of algorithms and integration of various robotics solutions, such as path-planning and task-planning and robot vision. I also took a leading role in talking with stakeholders to describe the solution and understand the needs of our customers, and oversaw testing of the platform in test environments and in commercial greenhouses.

Post-Doctoral Study: University of Michigan

2017 - 2018

After defending my thesis, I began post-doctoral study with Dmitry Berenson at the ARM Lab at the University of Michigan. I worked together with graduate and undergraduate students exploring optimality properties of sampling-based planners under difficult constraints and unique control paradigms.

Doctoral Study: Rutgers University

2012 - 2017

Under the guidance of my graduate advisor Kostas Bekris, I completed my Ph.D. study focusing on compact planning representations for teams of manipulator robots at the PRACSYS lab at Rutgers University. Together with a talented team of students, I produced over a dozen peer-reviewed publications, and had the opportunity to work on challenging projects such as the Amazon Picking Challenge and building a large open-source software package (see the Projects page for more details on these).

Master's Study: University of Nevada, Reno

2010 - 2012

I began my graduate studies at the University of Nevada, Reno under the guidance of Dr. Bekris after completing my undergraduate degree. During this time, I began working on the foundations of what would become the PRACSYS software, and I began my research into sparse roadmap spanners, getting my first publication to WAFR.

Undergraduate Study: University of Nevada, Reno

2006 - 2010

My undergraduate study started in my home state of Nevada, at the University of Nevada, Reno. I earned my bachelor's of computer science degree, graduating with high distinction.