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Sofia Kwok

Seattle, WA 98144 | sofia@starfishspace.com | Linkedin | Portfolio | Github | US Citizen

EDUCATION

Carnegie Mellon University August 2024

Master of Science in Robotics GPA: 4.0/4.0

California Institute of Technology June 2022

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Minor in Aerospace Engineering GPA: 3.9/4.0

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

Starfish Space — MANTA September 2024 - Present

Mechanical Engineer

● Designing subassemblies for a robotic arm performing in-orbit satellite servicing

● Building ground support equipment and performing structural, thermal, vacuum, and modal analysis

● Simulating arm behavior and kinematic trajectories during spiral-out and mission lifetime

Honeybee Robotics — Deep Drilling Team June 2021 - December 2021

Mechanical Engineering Intern

● Developed a new percussive drill system for in-situ sampling of lunar regolith

● Designed parts, sourced a custom optics system, and built testing setup for in-house evaluation

● Held a PDR and tested final design at NASA Ames, resulting in an overall Technology Readiness Level (TRL)

increase from TRL 1 to TRL 6

Elementary Robotics — Hardware Team June 2020 - September 2020

Mechanical Engineering Intern

● Designed a dynamometer for internal testing of company motors & drivers

● Prototyped and tested hardware using a combination of 3D printed parts, machined parts, and COTS parts

● Developed a control system using motor drivers and a LabJack U3

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Carnegie Mellon University — Robotic Exploration Lab August 2022 - August 2024

Graduate Student Researcher — Advisor: Prof. Zac Manchester

● Manufactured low-cost, dynamic biped from ODRI (Open Dynamic Robot Initiative)

● Selected motors, prototyped, and manufactured a reaction wheel system to control bipedal pitch

● Developed control policies for highly dynamic bipedal maneuvers such as jumps & backflips

● Designed & manufactured a bio-inspired robotic jellyfish for fluid simulation validation testing

Massachusetts Institute of Technology — BioInstrumentation Lab June 2022 - August 2022

Research Assistant — Advisor: Dr. Lynette Jones

● Developed and manufactured a new thermal haptic feedback system for use in experiments

● Tuned a control policy for generating various thermal profiles

California Institute of Technology — Colonius Lab March 2021 - June 2021

Undergraduate Researcher — Advisor: Prof. Tim Colonius

● Independently researched how to recreate a time-resolved full velocity field using pressure measurements

● Found the reduced-order model of the velocity field using the pressure coefficients and a singular value

decomposition of the velocity field over a specific time segment sample

● Compared the reduced order model to the original velocity field with accurate results

California Institute of Technology — AMBER Lab June 2019 - August 2019

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow — Advisor: Prof. Aaron Ames

● Designed an autonomous ankle exoskeleton for assisted walking

● Built and programmed a prototype for basic assistance with ankle torque while walking

● Paired a Teensy Arduino with a pressure sensor to measure contact events

PUBLICATIONS

● J. Alvarez, J. Zhang, S. Kwok, Z. Manchester. Real-Time Whole-Body Control of Legged Robots with

Model-Predictive Path Integral Control. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation 2025.

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● L. Stolov, K. Zacny, J. Heldmann, K. Bywaters, S. Kwok, C. Fortuin, A. Colaprete, A. Dave, R. Elphic, D. Kemp, K.

Chin. SMART: Instrumented Drill for ISRU Investigations on the Moon. 18th International ASCE Earth and Space

Conference 2022.

SKILLS

Mechanical Modeling: Solidworks, Autodesk Inventor, Ansys FEA & CFD

Machining: GD&T, 3D printing (FDM), waterjet, laser cutter, lathe, mill, vertical bandsaw, etc.

Software: C++, Python, Julia, Java, ROS, MATLAB, Mathematica

Other: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, Microsoft Project, Microsoft Office, LaTeX

Languages: English (fluent), Spanish (fluent)

RELEVANT COURSEWORK

Carnegie Mellon University

● 10-601: Machine Learning

● 16-711: Kinematics, Dynamic Systems, and Control

● 16-720: Computer Vision

● 16-745: Optimal Control and Reinforcement Learning

● 16-811: Math Fundamentals for Robotics

● 16-833: Localization and Mapping

● 16-845: Insects and Robots

California Institute of Technology

● ME 40: Dimensional and Data Analyses in Engineering

● ME 50ab: Experiments and Modeling in Mechanical Engineering

● ME 72ab: Engineering Design Laboratory

● ME/CS/EE 133ab: Robotics

● ME/CS/EE 134: Robotic Systems

● ME/CS/EE 169: Mobile Robots

● ME/CS/EE 234: Advanced Robotics

● Ae 105abc: Space Engineering

● Ae 102abc: Mechanics of Materials

● CDS 110: Feedback Control

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Carnegie Mellon University

● Teaching Assistant for 10-601: Introduction to Machine Learning (Summer 2023)

California Institute of Technology

● Teaching Assistant for ME 11: Thermodynamics (Fall 2020)

● Teaching Assistant for ME 12: Mechanics (Fall 2021)

● Teaching Assistant for ME 50ab: Experiments and Modeling in Mechanical Engineering (Winter-Spring 2022)

AWARDS

37th Annual Engineering Design Competition Winner (2022)

Member of the winning team for ME72: Engineering Design Laboratory. News link: https://me72.caltech.edu/me72/2022

Toni and Bob Perpall Research Fellow (2019)

Research grant for an outstanding initial proposal in the field of mechanical engineering

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION EFFORTS

Society of Women Engineers, Treasurer September 2018 - June 2022

● Treasurer duties included allotting club funds, writing applications for funding, and handling the budget

● Oversaw social media outreach & handled all registrations for WE20

● Student liaison with the Caltech Center for Inclusion and Diversity