I was awarded a NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunity for 2021-2025! This award allowed me to pursue my self-directed research on representing and manipulating deformable linear objects in partnership with NASA. Perks include Visiting Technologist Experiences at NASA research centers which have a research match with my topic, regular check-ins with NASA robotics researchers to gain additional feedback on project directions, and budget for materials and travel.

July 2025 Post-Dissertation Defense and Deposit Update: The Ph.D. can be very difficult. Receiving the NSTGRO award was the best thing to happen to me during graduate school. It gave me access to some of the best roboticists in the world and allowed me develop independently as a leader, mentor, collaborator, and diplomat in ways no other source of funding could. I hope to see more roboticists grow through the NSTGRO program, so I am sharing my personal statement and project narrative. Ad astra!