// Aerospace Engineering · Texas A&M University

Ellie
Engineers
the Future.

Arm Team Lead & Project Manager — KARURA

Sophomore aerospace engineering student building robotic arms, flying drones, and machining the future — one cycloidal gear at a time. From CAN bus firmware to 501(c)(3) nonprofit management, I work at the intersection of mechanical design, embedded systems, and team leadership.

「エンジニアリングは言語だ — 私は二つの言語を学んでいる。」
"Engineering is a language — I am learning two of them."

SolidWorks Fusion 360 CAN Bus ROS 2 Waterjet Cycloidal Gears PCB Design 501(c)(3)
Featured Project ↓ Skills Chart →
Ellie — Aerospace Engineering Student
Arm Team Lead · KARURA
2Years on KARURA
3CNC'd Al Gears
3CF-Printed Gears
501(c)(3)Nonprofit Founded
N2FAA Drone License
日本語Learning Japanese

// 01 — About

Engineer.
Leader.
Builder.

I'm an aerospace engineering student at Texas A&M University with a passion for making things that actually move — gears, joints, drones, and ideas. I joined the KARURA robotic arm team as a freshman and haven't looked back. Two years in, I lead engineering design, hardware development, and organizational management for the team, while taking on coursework in aerodynamics, dynamics, and numerical methods.

Arm Team Lead
KARURA Robotic Arm · ArmEJP Team
Lead all mechanical design and engineering development on the KARURA robotic arm. Responsible for drivetrain architecture, cycloidal gear design and machining, CAN bus motor control systems, and cross-functional integration with firmware and electronics teams.
SolidWorks CNC Machining CAN Bus Cycloidal Gears ROS 2
Project Manager
KARURA Robotic Arm · ArmEJP Team
Manage team operations, sponsor communications, and organizational development. Successfully structured KARURA as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to expand funding and partnerships. Coordinate with international teammates, driving personal study of Japanese to bridge communication gaps.
501(c)(3) Nonprofit Sponsor Relations 日本語

// Machining & Fabrication

Machined the entire KARURA arm in-house. This includes 3 cycloidal gear reduction units milled from aluminum on the CNC, and 3 additional sets printed from carbon-fiber reinforced filament. Also proficient with waterjet cutting, laser engraving, and manual machining processes.

KARURA Robotic Arm

// PCB Design

Designing custom PCBs for the KARURA arm — a natural extension of drone-building experience where hardware literacy is essential. Currently learning schematic capture and layout tools to reduce wiring complexity and improve system reliability.

// 日本語を学んでいる

チームのために言語を学ぶ。 "Learning the language for the team." — Studying Japanese to communicate with KARURA teammates abroad, using grammar study and song lyrics as learning tools.

// AERO Coursework

AERO 301 Theoretical Aerodynamics · AERO 310 Rigid Body Dynamics · AERO 222 Numerical Methods · AERO 220 · AERO 214 — building analytical foundations to complement hands-on engineering work.

// 02 — Featured Project

Differential
Wrist
Assembly

The differential wrist is the most mechanically complex subassembly on the KARURA arm — and my longest-running engineering project. A differential wrist uses two actuators working in opposition to achieve both pitch and roll simultaneously from a single compact package, making it ideal for a high-DOF robotic manipulator.

// Origin — Freshman Year, 2024

Joined KARURA as a freshman and immediately took on the differential wrist as a primary design challenge. Built the first version from scratch, learning CAD-to-fabrication workflows and drivetrain theory on the fly.

// Competition Failure

At competition, the V1 wrist failed under load. A hard lesson — but the failure data was invaluable. Structural analysis of the failure mode directly informed every design decision in the revision.

// Revamped Design — 2025

The 2025 redesign addresses every failure point from V1. Improved capstan drive geometry, revised cycloidal gear tolerances from lessons on the milled aluminum units, and a cleaner structural load path. This version is competition-ready.

Project Timeline

Fall 2023 — Freshman Year
Joined KARURA · First Assignment
Onboarded as a freshman member. Took on the differential wrist as my first major mechanical design challenge. No prior arm experience — learned SolidWorks and differential drive theory simultaneously.
Spring 2024
V1 Design & Fabrication
Completed first full design iteration — capstan cable routing, cycloidal reduction, and structural housing. Fabricated with limited machining access.
Competition 2024
⚠ In-Field Failure
Wrist assembly failed at competition under dynamic load. Part identified as a structural weak point in the cable routing system and gear interface. Team placed but the failure was a defining moment.
Fall 2024 — Spring 2025
V2 — Full Redesign
Complete design-from-scratch revision. New capstan geometry, refined cycloidal tolerance stack, improved load path. Machined aluminum gears on the CNC and printed CF filament backups.
2025 — Present
Competition-Ready Assembly
V2 wrist integrated into full arm. Currently undergoing final validation and testing ahead of the next competition season.
Differential Wrist 2025 Assembly
2025 Assembly — Competition Build
Capstan Drive Detail
Capstan Drive Detail
Cycloidal Gear V1
Cycloidal — V1
Cycloidal Gear V2
Cycloidal — V2
Cycloidal Gear Final
Cycloidal — Final Production

// 03 — Past Projects

Other Builds.

Rotor Riots Drone Build
// Personal Build · FPV Racing

Rotor Riots
Drone Build

Built a full FPV freestyle drone from scratch using the Rotor Riot kit — my entry point into hands-on electronics and hardware work before joining KARURA. Covered motor selection, ESC configuration, flight controller tuning (PID loops), frame assembly, and analog video transmission. Flew with full FPV goggles and a dedicated radio transmitter, and earned an FAA Part 107 drone license in the process. This project directly informed my approach to wiring, PCB thinking, and embedded motor control on the robotic arm.

PlatformRotor Riots Kit
LicenseFAA Part 107
VideoFPV Analog
Skills UsedESC, PID, Soldering
Drone Transmitter
FPV Goggles
FAA License
Rover Project
// Team Project · Robotics

Rover
Platform

Contributed to a ground rover platform — applying mechanical and systems knowledge from coursework and the KARURA project in a different mobility context. Work included structural design review, drivetrain considerations, and cross-team collaboration — skills that translate directly from arm to rover work.

TypeGround Rover
RoleMechanical / Systems

// 04 — Skills

What I
Know.

Skills developed across coursework, competition robotics, personal builds, and two years of hands-on manufacturing and project management.

Rating reflects practical, applied comfort — not just familiarity.

Expert
Intermediate
Beginner
Expert
SolidWorks
Expert
Fusion 360
Expert
Project Mgmt.
Expert
Laser Cutting
Expert
Waterjet
Expert
Intermediate
CNC Machining
Intermed.
CAM
Intermed.
Wiring
Intermed.
Beginner
Python
Beginner
PCB Design
Beginner
Rhino
Beginner
Welding
Beginner
日本語
Beginner