Leadership, Mentoring & Outreach
Much of my work outside of research has centered on helping students and early-career researchers gain experience with engineering and science. I've had opportunities to teach, mentor researchers, lead educational programs, judge student research, and participate in STEM outreach. I value these activities both as a way to share what I've learned and as an opportunity to learn from people whose experiences and interests are different from my own.
Leadership & Educational Programs
NASA Undergraduate Student Design Projects — Implementation Lead
2026–Present
I currently serve as an Implementation Lead for NASA's Undergraduate Student Design Projects initiative, which connects university students and faculty with research and engineering design challenges aligned with NASA missions. Student teams work throughout the academic year with NASA subject-matter experts to develop solutions that may include prototypes, simulations, technical analyses, and final design presentations.
My role focuses on helping translate the program from concept into an effective experience for participating students, faculty, and NASA mentors. I particularly value the opportunity to help create experiences where undergraduate students can work on open-ended engineering problems and interact directly with practicing scientists and engineers.
NASA Glenn High School Engineering Institute — Program Lead
2026-Present
I lead NASA Glenn's High School Engineering Institute, an educational program designed to give high school students exposure to engineering and the work conducted within a NASA research environment. I enjoyed helping students see how concepts they encounter in the classroom connect with the kinds of problems engineers work through in practice.
NASA Glenn / Cleveland State Pre-Apprenticeship and Career Exploration Program — Program Lead
Summer 2026
I served as a program lead for a collaborative career-exploration program involving NASA Glenn and Cleveland State University. The program provided students with exposure to engineering and STEM career pathways and opportunities to engage with professionals working in technical fields.
Research Mentoring
Mentoring has become an increasingly important part of my research. I enjoy helping students move from learning established methods to becoming comfortable asking their own questions, troubleshooting experiments, and making decisions about how to approach a research problem.
Research Mentor — NASA Glenn Research Center / USRA
2024–Present
I mentor student interns participating in biomedical engineering and human spaceflight research. My goal is to give students meaningful ownership of their work while providing the technical guidance and structure needed to make progress. This includes working through experimental design, data collection and analysis, interpretation of results, and communication of research findings.
Undergraduate Research Mentoring — University of Kentucky
2016–2021
During graduate school, I mentored undergraduate students working on research involving EEG, biomedical signal processing, and experimental methods. These experiences gave me an early appreciation for how differently students approach technical problems and the importance of adapting mentorship to the experience, interests, and goals of the individual student.
Teaching & Educational Engagement
I enjoy teaching most when students can connect technical concepts with a problem they can explore themselves. My teaching and educational experiences have ranged from first-year engineering instruction to invited talks and educational programs focused on biomedical engineering and human spaceflight.
Graduate Teaching Assistant — University of Kentucky
First-Year Engineering | 2017
I taught first-year engineering students through project-based coursework involving Arduino, basic instrumentation, and MATLAB programming. The courses emphasized using engineering tools to work through practical problems, giving students an early introduction to engineering design and problem solving.
Invited Educational Talks
I have also had opportunities to share my research and career experiences with students, trainees, and broader audiences. Recent invited engagements have included the Cleveland Clinic / International Space University Space MedEd Course, the University of Kentucky's F. Joseph Halcomb III Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series, and community-facing programs highlighting biomedical engineering and human spaceflight research.
Professional & Scientific Service
I value opportunities to contribute to the research community outside of my own work, particularly when they involve supporting students and early-career researchers. Serving as a reviewer or judge also gives me an opportunity to learn about research well outside my own areas of expertise.
Poster Judge — NASA Human Research Program Investigators' Workshop
2024–2025
I served as a poster judge at NASA's Human Research Program Investigators' Workshop, reviewing and providing feedback on research presented within the human spaceflight research community.
Student Research & Science Fair Judging
2022
I have also volunteered as a judge for student research presentations, including the Northeastern Ohio Science & Engineering Fair and the Lerner Research Institute Student Poster Session. I enjoy these events because they provide an opportunity to encourage developing scientists and engineers while learning about research that may be quite different from my own.