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Kevin W

- Research Program Mentor

Industry expert at University of California Berkeley (UC Berkeley)

Expertise

Spacecraft engineering, martial arts, dance

Bio

Hi, I'm Kevin, and I'm from Cupertino, California. I graduated from U.C. Berkeley a few years ago with a B.A. in Physics, and I now work as an Electro-Optical Engineer at Lockheed Martin Space. I have experience in high-level electrical design, database management, and spacecraft operations. In my free time I practice wushu and taiji; I compete internationally as a member of the U.S. Taiji Team. I play the piano and ukulele, as well as the board game weiqi/go. Recently I've begun competing in pole dance.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

The Scale of Space

Interested in space? Retrace the steps of Copernicus, Newton, and Kepler to understand the motion of celestial bodies and build a model of our Solar System. Start from observable phenomena and use fundamental mathematical principles to precisely determine the distances between each planet and our sun. Then use a medium of your choice to create an accurately scaled model!

Beginning Martial Arts

Always wanted to learn martial arts but can't find a good teacher nearby? I've been practicing and teaching Chinese martial arts for quite some time, and I'm more than happy to help you learn a form! I have experience teaching at all levels of experience, including complete beginners with no experience in any sport, so the only thing you need to come in with is a good attitude.

Coding skills

Some experience with Python

Languages I know

Intermediate Mandarin Chinese

Teaching experience

Mentored A. Do through Polygence. We started the mentorship when she had just finished geometry in middle school; she expressed a general interest in math. I taught her some fundamental physics and led her through making a scale model of the solar system. This involved deriving the relationship between orbital period and radius, starting from first principles.

Credentials

Work experience

Maxar Technologies (2016 - 2021)
Satellite Engineer
Lockheed Martin (2021 - Current)
Senior Electro-Optical Engineer

Education

University of California Berkeley (UC Berkeley)
BA Bachelor of Arts (2016)
Physics

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